Lucid
by cbehrills
Summary: When Naruto and Hinata begin their pursuit of a dangerous group of rogue shinobi, something goes horribly wrong. The rogues know that it is nearly impossible to defeat Naruto, he only has one weakness, his loved ones. Hinata is trapped in a world of her own dreams by a genjutsu. Can Naruto be the anchor to reality Hianta needs, or will she be lost to the genjutsu forever.
1. Born

**Author Note:**

Hi All.

Sorry, it's been a long time since I have uploaded anything, I've had a lot of exams to deal with.

I won't be able to upload anything else for the next week or so. However, this story will have 7 parts and they are already complete **.** These 7 parts will be uploaded over the following 7 days.

This will not affect my writing of "To the Future" (at least any more than present circumstances have). I will in a week or so.

This story is different from "To the Future", it's less of an action story and more of a suspense/drama story. It may have inconsistencies with the source material (I've tried to avoid this).

This story has taken me a long way out of my comfort zone, sorry if it's not up to the standard of my others.

Right, now that's out of the way, I hope you enjoy "Lucid".

Thanks,

Cbehrills

* * *

 **LUCID – BORN**

 **The Hidden Stone Village**

The five Kage conference had been called once more. These conferences used to be a once-in-a-lifetime event, happening only when a world-consuming emergency had occurred. After the conclusion of the 4th great shinobi war, the once temporary alliance between the villages changed, it became permanent. No one individual could take credit for this, it was the collective effort of thousands to usher in the peace that would follow.

The latest five Kage conference took place in the Hidden Stone Village. The issue, similar to the conference that initiated their at first uneasy alliance. Rogue shinobi.

The cast of the meetings had changed from back then, at least in one position. That position was the Hokage. Many served in the 4th great shinobi war with distinction but few could parallel the greatness of Hatake Kakashi. Following the war, it was almost inevitable that the position of the Hidden Leaf's leader would be passed from Senju Tsunade onto him.

He was the last one to arrive at the meeting. He was not late but perfectly on time. The Hidden Leaf administration was organised primarily by two individuals, Hatake Kakashi and his assistant, Nara Shikamaru. Both men were of a laid-back attitude who kept calm even under the most stressful situations. Unlike the others they were not so agitated, not so eager to get the meeting underway.

Shikamaru entered the conference room behind Kakashi, immediately drawing a protest from the host of the meeting, Onoki. "I'm sorry but I must insist that you leave the room".

Kakashi stood unmoving, as if considering the repercussions of his counterparts demand. Of all the Hokage up to that point he was perhaps the most intelligent, the most calculating.

"Lord Hokage…" Shikamaru muttered, prompting his superior for an order. He was prepared to leave but only on Kakashi's order

"Well, it only makes sense" Kakashi sighed as he mulled over the meeting's purpose. "We don't want to risk any information being leaked to these rogue shinobi".

He finally turned, his face shifting in a way that showed him to be smiling under the iconic mask he adorned. "Go Shikamaru, I will be fine without you".

Shikamaru was normally laid back and showed little formality when he acted, however, this case was special, the five people before him were responsible for governing the vast majority of the world. He bowed slightly and left the room, leaving only the five of them in there. The five most influential leaders on the planet.

The Raikage, in keeping with his usual demeanour, didn't keep quiet for long once Shikamaru had left the room. "Hokage" he barked to Kakashi, much like he had done to Tsunade previously, "We clearly requested that all Kage should attend this meeting alone, why did you disobey".

The request had been sent to the masked shinobi a few days prior. It was a confidential request, Shikamaru had known nothing of it. It was Kakashi's decision to ignore the content of the message, to bring his assistant with him.

"Shikamaru is a tactical genius unrivalled in the shinobi world" Kakashi explained with a shrug, seemingly unbothered by the dismissal, "I was hoping he could deduce something that we cannot, still, I respect your decision".

The Hokage's compliment was not without merit. Kakashi was a tactically minded shinobi whose talent would stand out even from the people in the room. Shikamaru surpassed him in that regard though. During the 4th great shinobi war, when Shikamaru's father was killed, he took over where his father left off. During the final battle, the task of coordinating an attack fell to him.

"I hope you understand why we have to be especially suspicious of the Hidden Leaf, Lord Hokage". That was said by the Mizukage, Terumi Mei. A confusing statement at first, seeing as the Hidden Mist Village had suffered more trouble with corruption than any other village, even having been nicknamed the blood mist.

"You're suspicious of the Hidden Leaf?" Kakashi questioned. He had not taken offence but was merely surprised by the suggestion. He was not aware of any unique link between his own village and the rogue shinobi.

"Of course" Mei responded matter-of-factly, "While the rogues are from a mixture of all the villages, history would tell us that your village is the likeliest origin".

"How have you come to that conclusion?".

"We only need to look at the greatest terrorists that your village has produced" the Raikage harrumphed. "All three of them bear the name Uchiha and all three of them nearly brought the world to its knees".

Kakashi was pained by this. He had a strong connection to two of the people in question. "All three of them did what they did due to the deception of Kaguya".

"Is that an excuse for the evil deeds they performed" Ay unfolded his arms and pointed a bulky finger at his fellow Kage. "Is that an excuse for the terrible people they were in life?".

Kakashi noticeably lowered his head, leaving his eyes resting on the table before his seat. "Lord Raikage, you know that I am usually a patient and tolerant person…". After starting the sentence, he raised his head, eyes alarmingly wide, like his Sharingan of old, "But I will not sit here while you insult my best friend and my student, not when they have gone so far to atone for their sins".

The room fells silent. They all knew this was not an argument between villages but an argument between the individuals. The last thing they needed in that situation was a fight, it was left to the youngest of them, the 'golden boy' of the five Kage to diffuse the situation.

"You have all still yet to change, you can't stop bickering" Gaara pointed out with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. Once again, he had shown himself to be the most mature Kage in the room. "I thought we agreed to leave this behind us and step forward into the future".

Onoki and Mei looked back and forward between Kakashi and Ay, waiting for one of them to make first move. Eventually, it was the Raikage who stepped up to the plate, and stood down from the confrontation. "Very well, you are right Kazekage".

"How is Lord Killer Bee?" Gaara asked.

The aforementioned Killer Bee was a large part of the reason they had called the meeting. He had suffered an attack at the hands of the rogue shinobi. Any shinobi wily enough to injure him is calling out for attention.

"Still fighting for his life. These rogue shinobi, these… shinobi killers cannot be allowed to roam free" Ay asserted in an unusually sombre tone. "If they can find Bee's whereabouts and do this to him, there is likely nobody in the world they cannot kill".

Onoki, the eldest in the room looked to the newest amongst them. "Lord Hokage" he politely called, "These inter-village issues have been taken care of by one man for the last few years. Is he working on this? Is Uchiha Sasuke working on this?".

Ay felt a pang of guilt when hearing the name. Early he had cited Sasuke as a terrorist yet he had become the focal point of praise in the minds of those present. These issues were complicated to handle, even for the likes of the Kage, yet one man, roaming the world righting wrongs had surpassed them in every regard. That man was the former terrorist, that man was the last Uchiha, that man was Sasuke.

"We haven't been in touch with Sasuke for a while but the last time we were, he warned me about these rogue shinobi" Kakashi explained. "He identified the threat before any of us, I'm sure he is looking to end it as we speak".

"My point from before still stands" Ay reluctantly admitted, "You may think that he has been redeemed but the Uchiha has history when it comes to this kind of thing".

"I'm afraid Lord Raikage is right" Mei nodded in agreement, "Lord Hokage, do you have any assurance that Sasuke himself isn't the source of these attacks?".

It was unlikely but not impossible that Sasuke would orchestrate these attacks. It would make little sense though. Sasuke is one of the most powerful shinobi in the world, one of the few people capable of defeat Killer Bee without attacking him from behind. Why would such a powerful shinobi bother to order rogue shinobi to execute his killings for him. Even if Sasuke were behind the attacks, could they do anything to stop him?

"I cannot offer a guarantee that Sasuke isn't responsible but I can offer you another assurance" the Hokage eventually confessed. "Everything the leaf can do to end this threat is being done".

"Everything you can do?". Mei was confused by this statement.

Onoki and Ay shared her confusion.

"I haven't had any reports on major Hidden Leaf manoeuvres".

"Neither have I".

"No, there haven't been any major manoeuvres, if Sasuke is behind this there is nothing any of us could do" Kakashi pointed out sensibly. However, he emphasised the word 'us', the implication is clear, there is one person who could stand up to Sasuke. "He has taken a personal interest in these rogue shinobi killings".

"He?" Ay asked.

"Uzumaki Naruto" came the answer.

The reactions of the Kage gathered was very telling. Every one of them relaxed in some form or another. A normal individual may not have noticed but one as perceptive as Kakashi would never have missed it. It only makes sense that they would relax, the name Uzumaki Naruto had the power to do that. Not only was he almost certain to succeed Kakashi as the Hokage but his status was such that the members of the village would almost see him as their leader. Naruto, more than anyone else, received the credit for victory in the 4th great shinobi war.

Gaara smiled when he heard that his friend was working on the incident. "In that case the Hidden Sand is assured that there is nothing else to be done".

"And the mist" Mei added with a slight raise of her hand.

"Hmm" Onoki stroked his chin while pretending to ponder his reaction, he knew already how he was going to react, "The Stone can agree to that as well".

"Well, Lord Raikage?" Gaara asked of the most sceptical man in the room.

"The Uzumaki boy is our greatest hope for the future" the Raikage conceded, "The Hidden Cloud will trust him too".

Kakashi got to his feet, sensing the meeting has concluded. "If we hear anything from Naruto or Sasuke, I will inform you immediately".

 **Northern Land of Fire**

Naruto looked to his left and his right. Trees, nothing but trees. In every direction only leaves, grass and rocks. This was the perfect environment to hide in and he knew it. "It's a fairly ideal place to hide out for a while, don't you think?" he asked of his partner.

His partner in this endeavour was the same as his partner in life. The closest person of all to him, Hyuuga Hinata.

"Yes" Hinata answered, surveying the environment the same as her boyfriend.

As a sensory shinobi, Hinata understood to an even greater degree than Naruto that this place would be excellent for hiding. Few could hide from her when she activated the Byakugan but there were certain tricks, certain techniques to avoid detection. Such techniques are easiest to use in a crowded area like this, full of foliage and obstacles.

"Right then" Naruto said as he bended his knees slightly and crossed his fingers, executing the jutsu that he had become famous for. In an instant he multiplies his existence, from one Naruto had spawned hundreds. "You all know what to do" he called to his duplicates, "Search the forest".

They scatter in every direction, knowing the pre-agreed search radius. Within that range, there isn't a spot he wouldn't look at, not a blade of grass that he wouldn't cover. If anyone were to hide however, it would not be Naruto's job to discover them, that task fell to Hinata.

"Can you see anything?" Naruto asked.

Hinata activated her Byakugan and sent out a few clones of her own. If anyone were to hide, they would not escape her notice, not without considerable planning and preparation. After a few minutes she relaxed her posture, "I can't see any people. We're alone, unless they are particularly well hidden".

Naruto nodded, he hadn't been overly-concerned as his own search of the area had revealed nothing. His search may not have been one-hundred percent reliable but it would be unusual for someone to avoid it. "I doubt they can hide well enough to escape us both" the blonde shinobi remarked. Few could after all.

"I'm not so sure" the Hyuuga heiress replied while fidgeting nervously with her hands.

"Hinata…".

"These rogue shinobi are unusual Naruto, they must have some sort of trick to what they do" she stated, her fidgeting getting more exaggerated with every passing second. "Otherwise there is no way they would have escaped Sasuke's notice for so long".

Both Hidden Leaf shinobi knew that their search was slightly superfluous, an exercise to alleviate their own concerns and those of the other villages. In reality, it was Uchiha Sasuke who had roamed the world for years, who knew the criminal mind inside-and-out, who was a superior tracker to them both combined, it was he who was more likely to discover the rogue's whereabouts. This gave credence to Hinata's argument, for if a group of shinobi could evade such a man, how could anyone find them?

"I suppose you're right" Naruto reluctantly admitted.

"Naruto, what do you think they have done with Hanabi" Hinata asked with moistening eyes, "Do you think she's dead?".

That was the reason for his personal interest in the rogue shinobi. Normally he would entrust such a task to Sasuke, he would avoid sticking his nose in and possibly making the situation worse but this was different. Hyuuga Hanabi had gone missing. The woman who Naruto had started to treat as his own sister had disappeared in this great period of turmoil. He was obliged, not as the hero of the hidden leaf, but as the partner of Hinata to search for her. The pressure was on him, pressure from the villagers, pressure from the Hyuuga clan, pressure from Hinata.

"It will be fine, Hinata" Naruto cheerfully said, waving off the concerns, "We'll find Hanabi safe and sound".

"Aren't you afraid at all Naruto? These people managed to injure Killer Bee so badly, there is nothing to say they couldn't do the same to us, especially if we walked into a trap".

The future Hokage was stunned into silence for a moment. It seemed bizarre after spending his life accumulating so much power. He had gotten so mighty that only Sasuke could rival him and yet he is being asked if he fears death, at the hands of a group of rogue shinobi. That is why his answer surprised even himself. "Maybe a little… no, you're right, I'm afraid, it's an enemy that we can't see that could do the most damage".

He continued, "But we're the perfect team to handle this, with my raw power and your sense, there is no way we will fail, right?".

Hinata couldn't help but smile slightly. This is what made Naruto who he was, this attitude, this never-give-up mantra of his, it permeated into the subconscious of those around him, elevating them from even the most feared of scenarios. She took his hand, clutching it tightly between her fingers and palm. "As long as you're here with me, I can keep walking forward, just like that day".

"Just like that day" Naruto nodded. On that day, during the 4th great shinobi war, the simple act of holding one another's hand had perhaps saved their lives, and the lives of everyone else in the world. That simple psychological change, those tiniest of actions, they had the potential to change the fate of all reality.

Naruto's clones each exploded in a small cloud of smoke. "OK, I've swept the surrounding area" he announced, "If they were here, they are long gone now".

They walked a short distance together, searching for the next high-potential area to scan. "They could be seeing us and running" Hinata casually remarked as she looked around for any potential hiding spots.

"You think so?".

"Yeah" she smiled, "If I saw either you or Sasuke trying to capture me, I would run as far as I could too".

"Haha, I suppose so" the Uzumaki clansmen laughed at the suggestion. He takes it as a great compliment, especially from a skilled shinobi like Hinata. He has worked all his life to earn this power, to protect his loved ones, to be recognised for it always feels special. "It could you that they are afraid of" he countered.

"Me?".

"Yeah" he nodded, "When you get angry, you scare me a lot more than Sasuke does".

Hinata had been growing more confident around Naruto ever since they first understood one another's feelings during the Toneri incident. She had indeed begun to reveal a side of her similar to Naruto's own mother. Though rare, there was a scary intimidating character hidden away within the quiet Hyuuga, and when it was brought to the surface, even the legendary Uzumaki would be afraid.

"I'll make sure to remember that" Hinata grinned, hoping that would be useful in the future.

Nearby however, unbeknownst to the young couple, they were being watched by something that neither of them would be able to spot. Not an entity of chakra but one of technology. A small robotic insect, recording their every move and relaying it to the very ones they feared the most. The rogue shinobi.

 **Elsewhere**

Two low-ranking rogue shinobi were monitoring the various sensory devices their group had planted around the world. They were watching, hoping to find a glimpse of something interesting, desperate to report it and earn the accolade of an interesting discovery for themselves.

These two were named Nariko and Joben, and it was Nariko had stumbled into her piece of good fortune. She had made the most interesting discovery the group was ever to make.

"Well, what do we have here?" she said while focusing on one of her many monitors.

"Is something wrong?" Joben asked, his chubby face unmoving as his eyes continued to dart between the many screens before his face.

"It can't be…" Nariko started, "It is… oh it really is…".

"What is it?" Joben repeated himself, finally lifting his eyes to look at his fellow traitor.

"Tell the boss that we should set up some traps" Nariko shouted excitedly, her eyes wide as she smiled at the sight before her. What a glorious sight it was. "We've caught the biggest fish out there. We've caught Uzumaki Naruto".

"Where?" Joben asked, jumping to his feet, his enthusiasm finally peaking.

"Bug 27, North West Land of Fire".

"We already have a trap around there but I'm not sure that it will work" Joben sighed as he looked through some documents on his right.

"Which trap?".

Upon being asked, Joben slid the file under his monitors, straight into the view of Nariko. She saw the trap in question and grinned widely, the situation couldn't have turned out better.

"Her trap… oh that will work perfectly" Nariko laughed, howling at the screens before her face, "That will work perfectly… especially considering who he has brought with him".

 **North-West Land of Fire**

Hinata and Naruto, unknowing of the many eyes now watching them, continued their search. They darted all through the North-West of their homeland, searching for any trace of the rogue shinobi they could. So far, only one person had been recorded as having escaped a rogue's ambush with their life, Lord Killer Bee himself. It is a faint hope which they maintained but it is hope nonetheless, hope that Hanabi would still be alive.

"I haven't found anything in this area, Naruto" Hinata said with a sigh as her distant clone dissipated.

Naruto's many clones disappeared just seconds later and with a shake of his head he confirmed the same discovery. "No, neither have I".

"Perhaps we aren't going to detect them visually" Hinata suggested while holding her head in her hand. Normally in these situations she would have been bashful, would have been quick to downplay her own abilities, but that is not what happened. Instead, it was Hinata's burning desire to find her sister that fuelled this thought. "Perhaps Kiba would have been a better partner than myself for this outing".

"Hinata, it's not Kiba that makes me feel this self-confidence, that gives me this courage when I work with him, it's you". Naruto could choose his words well when the situation required it, something Hinata knew all too well. "Besides, he probably wouldn't want the hand-holding".

The Hyuuga clanswomen laughed, relaxing once again. Only Naruto. Nobody else could make her feel this way. Like nothing was wrong. Like everything would be fine, no matter what.

The duo continued their search through the forest, with almost an hour passing before their attention was finally grasped.

Destiny's hand had finally closed around them.

"Naruto, I've found something interesting over this way". Hinata's Byakugan were fully active as she pointed in one of the directions her clones scattered in.

"Something interesting, a possible hiding spot?".

A nod in response. "A cave, it's marked with some sort of symbol".

Naruto started, a cave with a symbolic marking on it. That was by far the best lead they had all day, there was no way such a thing could be ignored or overlooked. The decision was simple, "Let's go then".

As both clambered their way through the foliage of the forest, they cleared a path to the cave. A cave that would decide the course of the rest of their lives.

"There is the mark" the sensory shinobi pointed at her discovery, "It had definitely been made by a human".

Naruto approached. "Kakashi sensei made me read up on all those symbols while I was studying" he explained as he dusted the marking, making it slightly easier to see, "It doesn't look like it's been made by a Hidden Leaf shinobi… or any other village for that matter".

"Could it have been left by a minor village".

He simply shook off the suggestion. "The only one close to here is the Hidden Rain village, I would probably recognise their symbols as well. After I found out about Konan's death to… you know… look after the village".

A grim time for the village, at the end of the day, only two people stood up to Pain in the final battle. Only two people truly refused to give up. These two. It had nearly kill them but they had defeated Jariya's former student, they had saved the Hidden Leaf. After that, and Konan's aforementioned death, Naruto had indeed felt he had a duty of care to the village. It was, after all, the village once protected by his sibling disciple.

"So, this could be them?" Hinata asked.

"Be on your guard" the answer she got in return.

They both wandered into the cave. Far from a pleasant setting but the rogues were unlikely to seek comfort and luxury in a hideout. To hide from people like Sasuke, a hideout like this would be necessary. The cragged ceiling of the cave, occasionally permitted a few drops of water to fall down onto the damp ground below. Fumbling, in the cold, wet and dark environment, even Naruto felt uncomfortable.

They reached the end of the cave though, and for their trouble, they found nothing.

"It's strange, I really expected to find them in here, or at least some sort of evidence they were here" Naruto said as he scratched his chin. He was convinced that he would have recognised the symbol if it belonged to a village, absolutely convinced. "Do you think it could be that they…".

As the future leader speculated, he saw to his right one of the most frightening things he would ever see.

Hinata collapsed.

Onto her side before rolling onto her back, an uncontrolled fall, a painful tumble.

"Hinata!" Naruto screamed as he ran over to his girlfriend's side, reaching down to pick her up.

" _Wait Naruto"_ a deep voice bellowed from within his head. This was the nine-tailed fox, Kurama. _"If this is a genjutsu, it may not be safe to move her"._

Genjutsu. Naruto was stunned that he hadn't thought of such a thing. Of course, it could be a genjutsu. He investigated her chakra to verify this theory, immediately calming down once it was confirmed. _"Yeah Kurama, you were right, it looks like a genjutsu"._

Naruto placed his hand on Hinata's shoulder, summoning chakra deep from within and expelling it through his hand. _'Release'_.

" _What are you waiting for"_ Kurama barked, impatient at his own host, _"Release her"._

" _I… I can't…"_ Naruto whispered in his mind, terrified at the situation before him.

" _What do you mean, you can't?"._

" _Kurama, I can't release her from the genjutsu"._

Naruto looked left and right, as if a child with a nearby parent to ask for help. He had no help available to him though. He was on his own in this situation. After all, if he couldn't release someone from a genjutsu, there was likely nobody alive with enough chakra and skill to do so.

" _Kurama, what do I do?"_ he asked pleadingly.

" _Keep calm, think about this rationally"._

" _I can't let her get hurt here Kurama, not her, anybody but her"._

" _CALM DOWN NARUTO!"_.

Finally, the mental communication of the Uzumaki silenced. He knew in his head that his partner was right, there was no way that getting over-excited would help this situation. Obviously, something unusual is going on here and he has to work out what it is. Or else, who knows what may happen.

" _You are this world's hero, it's mightiest shinobi. You have enough chakra to pull anyone out of a genjutsu. Not even Sasuke could produce a genjutsu that you couldn't break"._

' _That's right'_ Naruto told himself as he slowed his breathing. Something wasn't right. _"You're right, I have to think this through logically"._ He raised his thumb and forefinger to his chin and began to think over the situation. He had encountered genjutsu experts all throughout his life. Whether it be Sasuke, Kakashi, Itachi or even Madara. _"There is no way this is some unstoppable genjutsu"._

" _That's right"_ Kurama smiled, watching the analysis take place. _"It must be something else, we just have to work out how to tackle it"._

" _Do you think it's safe to move her Kurama"._

A new voice sounded then. A voice Naruto had never heard before. Deep but not as deep as Kurama's. Something about it contained menace though. A malice he hadn't encountered in such a long time. An untarnished desire to kill.

That voice dealt Naruto's hopes a hammer blow. _"Oh, I can assure you it's not"._

" _Who are you?"_ Kurama shouted. It had been a long time since someone other than Naruto had communicated with him this way.

' _Someone is communicating with us using a communications shinobi'_ Naruto noted in his head. Taking on the previous advice to stay calm and make a rational analysis. _'Who could it be'_.

The answer didn't take long to come into the open. The speaker was willing and eager to reveal his identity. _"My name is Seta Tetsuya; do you recognise it?"._

" _Seta Tetsuya"_ the future Hokage repeated the name in his head. He had heard it before and he suspected he knew where. He had hoped to have an alternative recollection but had no such luck. It's a worst-case scenario. _"Yes, your name was one of those on the rogue shinobi list"._

" _That's right. I am the leader of the rogue shinobi"_ Tetsuya proudly proclaimed. His voice was such that Naruto knew he must be sticking his chest out proudly. _"I am the man who is leading the hunt… the hunt against the powerful"._

" _Why"_ the nine-tails sensibly asked. _"The world has finally found peace thanks to Naruto, why would you do something like this?"._

" _You think I am interested in peace"._ Tetsuya had started the sentence quietly but his voice had risen and risen, peaking in a shout. There is no way that he was calm when he said that. The pause afterwards confirmed this, he had likely taken a second or two to lower his heart rate. _"Sometimes the world is too chaotic, sometimes it is too ordered. Either way, someone must come along to address the imbalance"._

" _Last time it was you Uzumaki Naruto"_ he began, _"This time it is me"._

" _I don't give a damn about any of that"_ Naruto said, his fists tightly clenched and his teeth grinding against one another, _"Tell me what happened to Hinata, now!"._

" _Oh yes, it would seem that you wish to know what happened to her. I think it's only fair that I should tell you, after all, it will make this a lot more fun"._

" _Get on with it!"._

Tetsuya could tell from the tone of voice he was receiving that his adversary was flustered. This inadvertent plan, this dream scenario had fallen into his lap. The perfect tool for combating Uzumaki Naruto had just stumbled along. That perfect tool, was Hyuuga Hinata.

" _Contrary to what you think, Hinata is indeed trapped within a genjutsu, a genjutsu that cannot be broken externally"._

" _That's impossible"_ Naruto rebuked. He had faced legends of the Uchiha clan. Fought with heroes of the Senju clan. Exchanged advice with the leaders of the Sarutobi clan. There is no way that such a powerful genjutsu caster could have escaped the 4th great shinobi war.

" _It's very much possible"_ Tetsuya laughed in reply, _"How could you not believe it when it's happening right before your eyes. Oh, and as I said previously, you better not move her, because if you do and she happens to be in the wrong state at the time…"._

The silence was deafening.

Naruto knew. Kurama knew. Moving Hinata would be bad.

" _Well, let's just say that something really bad would happen to her… and I suppose that by extension, you would suffer too"._

" _You bastard"_ Naruto cursed, waving his fist at the air before him, _"How do I free her?"._

" _Haven't you been listening? You can't free her. Only one person has the power to break this genjutsu"_. Tetsuya was gleeful knowing that with all his rival's might, he had become powerless. _"That is Hinata herself"._

 **The Hidden Leaf Streets**

Hinata looked around in a panic. This was quite clearly the Hidden Leaf Village. She hadn't been here. She had been in that cave with Naruto. She had fallen asleep and just awoken standing here, amongst all these people. Back and forward they walk, oblivious to her lingering distress and her confusion.

"Naruto" she called out as she looked around her, unable to find him.

As she looked around she noticed something. It had escaped her notice at first but this street is very familiar. A friend of hers who worked in a local convenience store had worked on this street. It is wrong though, she should have recognised it instantly. She would have recognised it instantly. One thing though, one thing is out of place.

Then she spots it.

Everything is mirrored. Back to front. Inverted.

"Naruto" she called out again, more desperately each time, "Naruto!".

The citizens were confused as evidenced by the looks on their faces. To them, Hinata was a young successful shinobi, yet she appeared as a lost child. She was shouting, shouting into the air in front of her.

"Lady Hinata?" a shinobi approached her, noticing her distress, "Are you alright?".

"Where is Naruto" she instantly asked, grasping at the shinobi's jacket and pulling herself close to him. "Where is he, tell me please! What happened to Naruto?".

The shinobi gave an answer to her question that would shake her to her very bones.

"Who is Naruto?".

Hinata stared at the shinobi in disbelief, shaking her head to herself. Her mouth was agape, how could someone not know. Naruto was a shinobi so well known, so famous that his status was often considered greater than the five Kage themselves. "What… what do you mean… Uzumaki Naruto… where is he?".

The citizens all looked around at one another, confusion on their faces. Hinata wilfully ignored the shaking of their heads and the shrugging of their shoulders. Acknowledging them would be a pain almost as bad as death for her.

"I'm afraid that I don't know an Uzumaki Naruto, my lady". The shinobi looked truly apologetic, almost guilty, not daring to look his superior in the eye.

"No" Hinata muttered to herself, releasing her iron grip on his jacket. "No, no, this is… everything is wrong". She even crossed her fingers and attempted to release herself from a genjutsu. This world couldn't be real. Nothing happened though. No amount of chakra build up helped her.

"Lady Hinata, are you OK?" the shinobi asked while reaching for her shoulder.

Her reaction quickly changed from desperation to violence. Her breathing quickened and as she saw the hand approach her, she thrusted her hands forward, pushing the helpful shinobi away. This was all wrong. She didn't want help from anybody here. Not from a place that didn't remember Uzumaki Naruto.

"Everything is backwards, it's all in the wrong place" Hinata shouted.

This drew another confused reaction from the shinobi, he was likely going to have a bruise in his chest the next day, Hinata had hit him that hard. He continued to speak to her though, it was his duty to reassure the villagers in this situation. "What is backwards?".

The Hyuuga ignored the question. "How can you not… know Naruto… the hero of the Hidden Leaf… the man who stopped Pain… our champion in the war".

The shinobi shook his head once more.

"Get away" Hinata then shouted. "Get away!".

She ran.

She ran as far as she could, in the direction with the fewest people.

She ran further and further, trying to lose herself in the back alleys of the village. The buildings were much taller than they used to be. The alleys though, they seemed much narrower, much darker, much colder. Everything in this place felt empty. It was giving her the complete opposite feeling of how it used to. The landscape wasn't the only thing that had been inverted, the emotions had too.

As Hinata approached a cross in the alley, a hooded figure appeared before her. The figure's face was obscured but Hinata could tell from her posture that she was a woman.

"I'm afraid that running won't save you, Hyuuga Hinata".

Hinata was not ready to believe that. Not this hooded figure. Not this village. Once again, she turned and ran. It was a short sprint in the other direction, a mere few seconds before she arrived at the next cross. She had been surprised though, for once more the hooded woman was in her path.

"We can do this all day if you want".

The Hyuuga clanswoman was so confused. She didn't want any of this confusion right now, she just wanted to get away from everything, to have a moment to herself. She leaped up onto the tiled rooftops and ran along them. It would have been a nostalgic feeling but nothing could be nostalgic in this place. It wasn't real, it couldn't be real. This backwards village, a village without Naruto.

Hinata ran all the way out of the village and to the nearest lake. Completed exhausted, she put her hands on her knees and leaned her head forward, sweat dropping from her skull down onto the grass below. When she finally raised her head, her stalker was there once again, the hooded woman. This hooded lady must have used some sort of space-time jutsu Hinata concluded, as she hadn't even broken a sweat in getting here.

"I've told you already, you can't run from this. It's your new reality".

 **The Cave**

GASP!

Hinata sat up. Her eyes wide as if she had a bucket of cold water poured all over her. For an instant she was relieved. For an instant her eyes fell on that blond spikey hair. On the calm blue eyes. On Uzumaki Naruto.

"Hinata!" he shouted.

Their encounter lasted but a second. Tiredness overcame the shinobi and she once again, lost consciousness.

 **The Lakeside**

"You will still see flashes, remnants of the old world, but that is your world no longer".

Hinata looked focused, for the first time thinking the situation through instead of panicking. She had just seen Naruto, she was in the cave just an instant ago. That was her old world, her world no longer?

The hooded woman approached Hinata and turned her around by her shoulders, pointing her at the village she had fled from. "This world is far better than that place".

"This world has been constructed entirely from your dreams" the woman explained, "And now your most pleasant dreams have become your new reality".

"Welcome… to the dream world".

Hinata saw it for the first time as she looked at the Hokage monument. It looked different and it was a few seconds before she noticed what was missing. A face.

Minato's face.

Hinata was mentally exhausted. Her brain could take no more. Finally, she collapsed. Truly losing all consciousness.

Her stalker approached her with a smile.

"Sleep tight princess… tomorrow will be a day you never forget".


	2. Christened

LUCID – CHRISTENED

 **The Cave**

Naruto sat, knelt, looking over Hinata silently. It had been many years since he encountered a threat he couldn't overcome with power alone, the last was Kaguya herself. Then this moment came, the moment where he found out that Hinata was on her own, that he couldn't help her to escape from the genjutsu. He struggled to cope with that idea, he had encountered dangers he couldn't fight conventionally before but never one like this. He had no idea what to do, what to think.

The sole sound of the water dripping down from the ceiling soon changed, when a whispered name filled the air. A name whispered from Naruto's own lips. "Hinata…".

Kurama could watch this no longer. He had to say something, he knew that, for he was the one who really knew Naruto better than anybody. United since Naruto's infancy, Kurama had seen every struggle his Jinchuriki had encountered, every decision he had made. They were closer in that regard than any two humans could ever hope to be.

" _Naruto, now isn't the time to be sentimental"_ the nine-tails said in an unusually subdued tone. He had to be the calm one, he had to control Naruto for a few moments at least, that was the only way to save Hinata. _"We have to think of how we can solve this problem. You have to do something"._

Naruto groaned to himself. He didn't feel like moving. Helplessness did that to him, made him paralysed, forced him into inaction. He had worked hard all his life to earn the respect of those around him, to become the Hokage, to protect everyone in the village. Yet, despite all that, he couldn't overcome such a simple obstacle, a genjutsu.

The blonde shinobi forced himself to take a deep breath. Kurama was right. No puzzle is impossible, no matter how difficult it is, there must be a way to undo all of this. _"They may be nearby…"_ Naruto postulated, _"If I can find them, I may be able to release the jutsu"._

Naruto crossed his fingers, clouds of smoke surrounding him as he sent out an army of hundreds to scour the nearby landscape. Of course, he had done this previously and found nothing, Hinata too but he had to do something. When looking for a solution to a problem, grasping at straws is better than grasping nothing at all.

" _I'm afraid you won't find us nearby"_ the voice of Tetsuya once more arrived in Naruto's head, taunting him over the state of his fallen partner. _"You will not be so lucky"._

The Leaf shinobi was no fool, he wasn't simply going to take Tetsuya's word for it. Such a despicable human being, such a vengeful shinobi, his words couldn't be taken at face value. He may well have been saying that just to throw him off the scent.

A few minutes passed while Naruto scoured the landscape. In an instant of shock, both he and Kurama started at what they were seeing. Their shared vision hadn't failed them, it truly was happening.

Naruto found something.

" _Kurama, I've found one of them"_ he yelled in surprise.

" _Yeah"._

In amongst the leaves, a shinobi was disguised in green, blending almost perfectly into the background. Only a shinobi with enhanced senses would have been able to spot him, or a shinobi with a hundred eyes pointing in the same direction at once. Only one person would have been able to make this discovery with clones, that was Uzumaki Naruto.

" _Oh, so you found him. I admit I, I lied before to see what you would do"_ Tetsuya's confession reeked with insincerity, not that Naruto cared. All he wanted to do was chase down this shinobi, this new lead that he had discovered. It was a chance, a golden chance. Tetsuya continued, _"I never thought you would find Maro, you're just as impressive as they say, Uzumaki Naruto"_.

Naruto was in no mood to take the praise. _"Don't act so complacent, you're next"._

As he retorted, he began to manoeuvre his clones. There were no flashy attacks or powerful jutsu involved in his pursuit, Naruto had no use of them. Instead he was directing his adversary, bringing him closer to the cave, trapping him. Even a rasengan could put a normal opponent out of action for hours, he couldn't risk waiting so long. He was going to bring this Maro right to him and ask him some questions.

" _So, allow me to guess what you're going to do next"_ Tetsuya confidently began, _"You will try to reel Maro in, you will try to work out what he is doing. You will attempt to interrogate him or use him as a bargaining chip"._

" _Kurama, it looks like he knows what we are doing"_ Naruto reluctantly admitted. When a shinobi had the ability to get inside his head like this, that shinobi would know everything that Naruto and Kurama were saying to one another. He was in a near omniscient position.

" _Don't let him distract you Naruto"_ Kurama loudly ordered this, offering encouragement to his host, _"He is only saying that because he wants us to think he is in control. He is trying to make us let this rogue move as he pleases, that way he can complete his plans"._

" _You are wrong nine-tails. I am boasting about knowing what you will do because it will make no difference"_ Tetsuya replied matter-of-factly. _"Whether you reel in Maro or not, I am in control here. And even if you capture him, it will not be enough to save you. Not from the suffering you are destined to feel"._

Naruto's lips lifted slightly, almost into a smile. _"Hinata isn't how you have imagined her. You should take your focus away from me and put it back on her because if there is a way to escape this jutsu, she will find it"._

Elsewhere, Tetsuya lowered his head, depressed with what he has hearing. He had never imagined fighting Naruto would be like this. _"Your faith in your friends, your power, your charisma, your tactics, everything about who you are is incredible Uzumaki Naruto"._ It was something he should have understood previously. No matter who you ask, if they have met Naruto on the field of battle, they will speak highly of him. They will explain just how powerful he is, not just in body but in mind. _"It isn't who you are that matters though, it is where you come from"._

Naruto frowned upon hearing this argument. Isn't that sort of quote usually said the other way around. Is it not who you are that matters rather than your background. _"What do you mean by that?"._

" _I mean that while you can't help Hinata escape the genjutsu, you are her anchor to reality"._

Naruto was confused. Her anchor to reality?

" _While you shine brilliantly as a beacon of hope to raise people up, as an anchor to bring people down, you are useless"._

" _Anchoring her to reality is impossible for someone like you"._

Naruto had switched from confused to lost. He could hardly understand the point of what Tetsuya was saying. Why would he need to bring Hinata down, he would never try to do that would he?

Kurama was sombre. Very sombre. _"Don't listen to him Naruto, just keep doing what you are doing and everything will be fine"._

" _Yes"._

Naruto was finding this situation more terrifying by the second. He closed his eyes and called out to her in his thoughts. _'Hinata, you have to be alright… you have to…'_.

 **The Dream World, The Lake**

Hinata woke up to bright sunlight. It was blinding, so bright that she was forced to raise a hand before her face, shielding her eyes from the sun. As she put one hand down and began to lean forward, she realised where she was. It was still the lakeside.

Her hand came down in some dry grass, she had slept outside all through the night. That realisation didn't occupy her mind for more than an instant though. She realised that something far more important was taking place here, this was still the other world. The world that stalker from the previous night had referred to as the dream world. How could it be a dream world though, it was a world without Naruto.

As the sun started to flicker through Hinata's hands, she moved them once again to block out the sun. Then a much larger obstruction to the light came, someone leaned over Hinata, blocking out the rays of the sun. "Hello dear, I heard that you went a bit mad last night".

Hinata was shocked, did this person know her, she didn't recall having ever seen him before. She lowered her now free hand to her face, rubbing her eyes clear of the dust that had accumulated the night before. What was going on, it all seemed so real to her this place, all the things she was feeling. It was so unlike a dream.

Then she finally realised what had been said to her. "A bit mad… dear…".

This man was named Nikko. He was indeed someone familiar with Hinata.

Nikko had a naturally kind appearance about his face and deep blue eyes that always appeared wide and welcoming. He seemed like one of those naïve people, whose naivety is not something to be resolved but something to be protected. He had cheerful smile on his face at most times, with a mole just under the left side of his mouth. What drew Hinata's eye though was his hair. A plum shade of red, dazzling like the falling leaves in the autumn. How could she not remember someone who looked like that?

"It's been a long time since you slept outdoors" Nikko said with a smile, rubbing the back of his head, "This is a bit less romantic than the other times".

Hinata's questions all stuck in her throat after she heard that. Less romantic. Just who was this person supposed to be to her, some kind of lover. Is that why he called her dear? That couldn't possibly be right though, she had never seen him before, never this face. Although other parts of him seemed familiar, warm, like they were from an old dream.

"A bit mad…" she repeated, dumbstruck.

"The guard commander told me that you were talking about some strange people last night" Nikko explained, adopting a more straight-faced expression as he placed his hand on Hinata's forehead, "Are you OK?".

The Hyuuga frowned slightly, reaching her hand up and removing Nikko's from her head. She worked up the resolve to ask a question of him. "Who are you?".

Nikko's face once more dropped, no longer straight-faced, his expression was instead quite depressed. "You don't even remember me, huh? There must be something seriously wrong with you".

Hinata shook her head again, something wrong with her, she had never seen this man before. She had never encountered anyone who looked like him. He seemed more like a product of the imagination than a real person.

Nikko stretched out his hand, smiling once more as he offered it to the floored shinobi. Hinata wasn't convinced that she could trust him at all but she didn't believe he was a bad person. There was something in his features, something intrinsic that she couldn't place her finger on that made her want to believe him. She reached out herself and with his help, got onto her feet.

"Maybe we should go to the hospital so that you can see Sakura" Nikko suggested with a hand on his hip.

Hinata started, smiling widely as she heard the familiar name. Sakura, Sakura is still here in this world, she hadn't disappeared along with Naruto. Perhaps she could help. "Sakura, that sounds like a good idea, take me to see Sakura". Hinata took her first step back towards the village but then remembered her previous problem. Everything in this world was backwards, it was mirrored. "I uh… could you show me the way to the hospital".

"Of course, I'll take you there myself" the plum-haired gentleman resolved, approaching Hinata and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, "I wouldn't want to leave you alone in this fragile mental state".

"Ri… Right".

 **The Dream World, The Hospital**

Sakura entered the room with a few notes on a clipboard. She looked slightly distressed by the situation if anything, this reunion hadn't been as helpful as Hinata hoped it would be. Whatever the medical shinobi was about to say it was going to be serious.

"So, you really don't remember Nikko?" Sakura asked as she looked up from the clipboard.

Hinata looked sideways at her 'dear'. Her empty gaze was a knife thrust into his very heart. He had clearly been shaken. She shook her head with an apologetic look. "No, I don't remember you, I'm really sorry".

"Don't apologise" Nikko said as waved his hand in front of his face. He clearly didn't want Hinata to feel any mental anguish about this situation. "You're not to blame for… whatever this is… right Sakura?".

"Of course not" Sakura assured the duo as she shook her head slightly, looking at the test results before her. She had seen this before and it had never ended well. "Hinata, you have a condition called Somnium".

"Somnium…" Hinata repeated the word, trying to draw it from somewhere in her subconscious. Had she ever heard that word before, Somnium. Not that she could recall. "What is Somnium?".

"It's a disease that affects the brain. It can make you feel disoriented, lead to fainting and or cause you to forget things or people" the medical shinobi explained as she placed her clipboard down on her desk. "It seems you have forgotten all about Nikko. It's strange that you forgot him and remember me though".

"I'm sorry".

Sakura leaned forward, looking sideways at one of the photos on her desk. "Ah, do you remember team 7 from back at the academy".

Hinata perked up, smiling for a moment. How could she not remember team 7? Naruto was part of that team, a team with three freakishly powerful shinobi and a sensei who went on to become the Hokage. With Sakura's next sentence, Hinata's heart was crushed.

"Sasuke, Nikko and I made up that team".

Hinata looked down into her hands, seeing them tremble before her very eyes. "You three were in team 7?".

"That's right" Nikko answered cheerfully, clearly the team had given him many happy memories. It was a happiness that Hinata had seen before when Naruto talked about the team. "It's back in the academy where we all first met".

As Nikko and Sakura continued to reminisce, Hinata phased out, thinking to herself instead of listening. _'That can't be right… am I really going mad.'_.

' _Naruto… Naruto should be on team 7… how could it not be Naruto…?'_.

' _What's happening to me?'_.

 **Outside the Cave**

Maro was clearly demonstrating to Naruto his extraordinary skills as a shinobi. Of course, Naruto was one of the most skilled shinobi to ever put on a head protector but in this situation, he was simply executing a low-level pursuit. Maro was able to avoid the grasp of the majority of the clones, evidently, he had trained to obtain this elusive capability for some time.

Still, the rogue shinobi's skills did not perturb the team 7 member. Naruto simply kept closing in, patiently taking one step after another in a deliberate and patient effort to reel him in. Maro was a fish on the end of a hook and he stood no chance of escaping for long. It is his destination had worried Naruto, each step he took, while it appeared to be an attempt to avoid the clones, it also drew him closer towards the cave. As he got closer and closer, the blonde shinobi had to wonder if he was doing this to evade capture, or to draw closer to the cave.

" _Kurama, he's running towards the cave on purpose!"._ Naruto didn't have any proof that this was the case, it was just his instinct. Letting this person get too close would be bad news.

" _Don't let him in Naruto. They must have known we were here since they set the trap"_ Kurama agreed with his host. Nothing good could happen if they let their adversaries get too close to this situation. Interrogating Maro outside the cave was a viable option. _"He must be heading towards you and Hinata for a reason, don't let him get too close"._

Of course he didn't. This wasn't your run-of-the-mill shinobi. As talented as Maro's evasions were, they were nothing compared to the sheer number of clones that Naruto could create. They trapped him outside the cave, encircling him so that he had nowhere left to run.

Maro frowned slightly, Naruto had seen through his plan. He considered re-evaluating, taking a few steps backwards before he realised that he was surrounded on all sides. Naturally he would be, how could he not be, his opponent is Uzumaki Naruto after all, this is the 'end boss' of their campaign.

The rogue shinobi smiled, shrugging his shoulders as if to say 'typical' and curse the world around him. He said with a sigh, "I've been waiting to come face to face with you for a long time now. It really is you, the Uzumaki Naruto, I'm almost giddy with excitement".

"Stop talking nonsense" the first clone calmly ordered, kunai ready should the rogue attempt another escape, "Tell me how I free Hinata".

Maro lowered his eyes to the ground for a moment, lamenting how boring the world had become. This world was no longer his, it was too well structured, there were too many people like this man, like Naruto. Sure, maintaining law and order made the world a better place for the weak but after a while it had started to make the whole world seem devoid of colour. What was once a vibrant landscape for him had become a black and white photo, it had become boring.

"If I do so hunting the prey that is Uzumaki Naruto, I am content with dying" he admitted, raising his head with a smile, "I will warn you now, hero of order, 5 more days is all you have left. Then you will either die or live an eternity of suffering".

Naruto's patience had long since passed its limit. "I said stop talking non…".

He was stopped mid-sentence by the actions of the rogue. Maro's face had started to contort in pain. Not only that but his entire body started to glow furiously like the sun. As the glow got brighter and the temperature grew warmer, sweat started to pour down Maro's face and in absolute agony he spoke some final words to Naruto.

"All you need to do is anchor her to this world, Uzumaki" he shouted through his pain, "When you can't even do that for her you will realise your greatest failure. You will burn to the ground and we shall rise from the ashes of order".

As the clones surrounded Maro in his new heating state, one of them, who seemed to have adopted the mantle of leader, called out, "Don't take your eyes off him, god knows what he is going to do".

He watched for a few seconds longer. Slowly, starting to realise the change in the air. A physical change accompanied by a metaphorical one, it seems that with Maro's words fate had started to act against Naruto. "Stop" he murmured before raising his voice to a yell, "Stop, stop the technique now!".

Maro didn't comply. Naruto was unsure of whether the rogue shinobi could even hear him at this point.

If Naruto's gut instinct was right, he had no time to mess around. Holding back at this point was putting Hinata in danger. The lead clone pulled out the chakra of the nine-tails and created a violently spinning rasengan, thrusting it towards the burning Maro. The rasengan didn't connect though, as it was pushed through the barrier of heat, it slowly disappeared inch by inch. Just as his hand was about to move into the barrier of heat, Naruto pulled it away.

" _Naruto, what is wrong with you?"_ Kurama asked. He was seeing the same things as Naruto but couldn't understand his sense of urgency or his panic. Naruto should have been slightly flustered given Hinata's condition but his host had never usually been so quick to resort to an all-out attack.

" _He is beginning to realise nine-tails"_ Tetsuya said through his still-present communication link. _"His senses mean he has realised something that you cannot"._

"The temperature…" Naruto whispered under his voice, gulping before explaining the situation to Kurama, "The temperature is rising".

' _What'_.

Naruto immediately dissipated all of his clones outside, they wouldn't be of any use to him right now. He instead focused his chakra on his real body and using Kurama's chakra, created a barrier around himself and Hinata.

" _What are you doing"_ the nine-tails asked.

" _I have to keep a barrier up"_ Naruto said in a panic, doing everything he can to conserve chakra while doing it, _"If the temperature continues to rise at this rate, Hinata won't last long in her current state"._

" _Naruto, my chakra can't keep up that barrier forever"_ Kurama explained, _"Not even you and I could keep this up for too long"._

" _Five days by my calculation"_ Tetsuya said, finally making Naruto understand Maro's former remarks.

" _Five days for Hinata to escape the genjutsu, to escape this heat".  
"If she doesn't escape in time she will burn to death".  
"Of course, so will you unless you leave her".  
"Do you have that in you, Uzumaki Naruto"._

 **The Dream World, Outside the Hospital**

Nikko looked around, stretching as he commented on the beautiful weather. Thinking about it, Hinata couldn't recall there being any bad weather since she arrived in this world. It had been wonderfully sunny with a cool breeze with not a drop of rain. The Hyuuga clanswoman had to wonder if the weather here was always like this, if the plants were able to survive without any water at all in this place.

"Perhaps we can take a look at some of the places you would often go" Nikko suggested with a smile, "That might help to jog your memory".

Hinata considered this idea, the places where she would often go. Would these be places where she went in the other world, would these be places with people she was familiar with, would these be places with people who remembered Naruto. It seemed unlikely, if Sakura couldn't remember him then it was unlikely that any of the others would be able to do so.

Still, despite all that, she had to do something while she was there, it might have been a good idea. "Yes, that sounds like a good idea" she agreed. There was nothing to be lost from having a look around after all.

"OK" Nikko said, stretching his open hand down to Hinata's side.

Hinata looked at the hand, shaking her head and pulling her own hand away from it. "Sorry" she said, looking away from him, "I don't…". Hinata didn't want to see him like this, if anything she believed that he was being honest with her. If the things he was saying to her were untrue it was against his knowledge. His face, straightforward and kind, it was not a face she wanted to see disappointed.

"No it's OK" Nikko waved off the apology. "I'm sure that it's only a matter of time before you remember and we can go back to normal".

As the couple walked away from the hospital, Hinata blindly followed him around to the places where she would go on a normal day. _'Normal'_ she said the word in her mind, _'This isn't normal is it, I don't know this man'._ It was all beginning to become a bit hazy to her, it was like the other world wasn't real while she was here. It was like her memories of it were sipping through a sieve. _'Naruto, I normally hold hands with Naruto… I'm normally with Naruto, aren't I…'_?

 **The Dream World, A Shinobi Building**

Hinata could tell from the moment she entered the building it housed shinobi. The weapon racks, the maps, the reading material littered about the room. This place was ideal for training, resting and planning. People looked at her in an unusual way, did these people know her, was it because she was acting unusually.

"This is where you normally work" Nikko explained, leaning over and pointing to a desk at the end of a long room, "You lead the Sensing and Tracking group of the Hidden Leaf".

Hinata shook her head, "There is a Sensing and Tracking group" she asked in surprise. It was only at that point that Nikko's last words struck her and she looked at the name on the desk at the end of the hall. It read 'Hyuuga Hinata'. "And I lead them…".

"Ah, Hinata" a familiar voice called. A man and a dog approached her. A very familiar face, Kiba. "I heard that you had lost some of your memories, do you remember me?".

"Kiba… of course I know you, we have been on a team for years" Hinata said matter-of-factly. Nikko was slightly stunned, another one just like Sakura. Hinata seemed to remember most of the shinobi that she had worked with. Every one of them but him.

"Oh good, I'm glad you remember" Kiba said with a huge grin on his face. "I take it you're here to try and remind yourself of things you have forgotten".

"Yes". Hinata knew that this may confuse people but she had to try. She had to try desperately to find a solution to this issue she had, this genjutsu, this disease, this memory loss. "Kiba" she began, "Do you remember someone named Naruto".

"Naruto…" Kiba said while scratching his chin. He and Naruto had been good friends in the other world, would he be able to remember him. Unfortunately for Hinata, the answer isn't what she had hoped for, "I don't think I know anybody called Naruto, why?".

"Sorry" Hinata apologised, bowing to Kiba in an over-the-top apology, "It's just, I thought I remembered someone I worked with called Naruto".

Nikko racked his brains. He had known Hinata for a very long time, just like Kiba. He scratched his plum-red hair and considered all the missions they had been on together. To all the corners of the world, with people like Shino, Shikamaru, Sasuke and Kiba. Nobody came to mind, not one shinobi named Naruto.

"Ah, here's another familiar face" Kiba said while gesturing to the door.

A familiar figure came through the door. A figure that would impact Hinata greatly.

A tear came to Hinata's eye as she watched him approach. "Neji… Neji you're alive…".

Neji looked at Kiba confused about this emotional reaction. He had heard that his cousin had memory loss but he hadn't expected her to react like this upon seeing him. "I am the last time I checked, though I'm sorry I was a bit late to work today".

Hinata hugged Neji tightly, something she had always wanted to do one last time. "I'm so glad you're OK".

Neji started before hugging Hinata in return. "Alright, alright, you can relax now Hinata, I'm fine". He looked over his cousin's shoulder at her partner Nikko. The two shared a glance and Nikko shrugged his shoulders. For them, what was going on in Hinata's mind was impossible to decipher.

"But during the war" Hinata began, "Didn't you… you know…".

"During the war?" Neji replied, "Which war?".

"The 4th great shinobi war".

Hinata was terrified as once more shared glances spread through the room like a plague. She hated this feeling, the feeling that everyone knew more than she did, that she was eternally left out of the loop.

Nikko coughed before whispering something in her ear. "Hinata, there hasn't been a 4th great shinobi war".

Upon hearing those final words, Hinata fainted once again.

 **The Cave**

The day was almost over. The second day of Hinata's enduring this genjutsu. Naruto was trying with everything he had to keep the shield up around the two of them. Outside it was getting hotter and hotter. The situation was getting worse by the second.

" _Hey kid, are you OK?"_ Kurama asked with heavy eyes. He was surprised that the need for sleep wasn't getting to Naruto, this was tiring for him just from the physical strain, the added mental strain his jinchuriki had to endure must have been enormous.

" _Kurama, look at what has happened to her, do you think I'm OK?"._

" _You need to look at the positives"_ the nine-tails insisted. What was important to him at this moment was getting Naruto's morale up in any way possible. _"You need to think about getting through this, both of you"._

" _Do you know what I am thinking Kurama"_ he asked with a quiet sombre voice, _"I'm thinking about how I lost my mom, how I lost my dad, how I lost pervy sage"._

That hit where it hurt, Kurama was responsible for two of those three deaths. _"I'm sorry…"_

" _I don't hold a grudge against you for the past but… I can't just loser her as well… I couldn't cope… I can't just keep going if I…"._

The sound of a loud gasp filled the cave as Hinata woke from the dream world, interrupting Naruto's conversation with his partner.

"Hinata!".

"Naruto" she called out weakly, reaching her hand out behind her, hoping to feel something, "Naruto is that you".

"I'm here Hinata" Naruto said as he took Hinata's hand.

A wave of relief washed over her, Naruto was there. This hand that she could feel was undoubtedly his. In spite of all the confusion, in this moment she truly believed that everything was going to be fine, that he would find a solution to her problem.

"Everything is so… confusing" she said as her eyes grew accustomed to the dark, "Where are we?".

"We're in the cave" Naruto explained, "How are you feeling?".

' _The cave'_ Hinata repeated it in her head, trying to make sense of it. The floor felt a bit damp and it was certainly dark and stony in here. It certainly felt like a cave. She started to remember the events from before, they had gone into a cave together.

"It feels so… blurry" Hinata explained, answering Naruto's personal enquiry. "It sounds like your voice is just an echo, like a dream…".

Naruto nodded, looking around. Truthfully, there was a slight echo in this cave and that could be what was confusing Hinata. As for the blurriness, the dream-like presence of reality, he couldn't explain it. "Hinata, these must be the after-effects of the genjutsu".

More confusion. Hinata was only getting back into this world's way of thinking very slowly. A genjutsu, was that what the other place was, a genjutsu.

"Don't you remember, you were trapped by a genjutsu".

Yes. She understood. She thought she understood. She could believe it. A genjutsu. A place like that could surely only be a genjutsu. "I… it was another world Naruto, a world where you didn't exist" she explained, "I don't know what changed but you weren't there, your dad wasn't on the Hokage monument".

"Hinata…".

"I remember now, there was a woman, a hooded woman there" Hinata explained, the fuzzy details of the previous night slowly returning to her, "She said it was a world made from my happiest dreams. She said that was my reality now".

"Hinata, it's over now, you can rest easy, you're awake".

The Hyuuga shook her head, this didn't feel like she was awake. The blur, the imperfection, the lack of clarity in the world. This still felt like a dream to her. She remembered that this had happened to her once before. "But I woke up before didn't I…".

"Yes but…".

"Naruto, I keep going back there again".

These two were not thinking rationally, judgement impaired by their dream-states and emotions but Kurama was much more experienced. He was able to view the situation objectively, to calmly consider what was happening. _"Naruto, this has become her dream, she will go back in a few seconds"_.

The jinchuriki realises his tailed-beast is right as Hinata's eyelids start to flicker slightly, slowly coming to a close. "No Hinata, you need to stay awake" he shouted.

It was no good, she fell asleep.

"HINATA!".

With the exception of the water dripping down from the ceiling, the cave had fallen silent.

Kurama waited for a few seconds before calling out. _"Naruto…"._

" _WHAT!"._

" _It's beginning to make sense, a genjutsu constructing her dream world, a world she doesn't want to leave"_ the fox began, "The only difference is that you are hear, that is the only reason she may come back to this world".

" _Now do you see, Uzumaki Naruto"_ Tetsuya called across the established link.

" _It's as he said"_ Kurama continued, _"You have to be her anchor, otherwise she may never come back"._

Naruto's fist tightened, and he reached into Hinata's bag, pulling out a radio and doing something he should have done before. He uses the radio to call out for help. "Hello, can anybody here me…".

"We need help… please… we need help…".


	3. Married

LUCID – MARRIED

 **The Dream World**

"NARUTO!".

Hinata woke up in the dream world. She was sweating, distressed with her eyes wide open. She took a moment to slow her breathing before looking around. She was in a bedroom, with the sun peaking in through the slightly open curtains. The bright rays of the sun weren't blinding her this time but dancing from the window to the wall on the opposite side of the room. The white walls of the room wonderfully reflected the light making it feel like the entire room was alive, it was wonderful.

Hinata looked down at the comfortable covers, a thin but heavy material, helping her to remain cool but comfortable. She then looked at her own arm to see a silk sleeve running along it. These clothes she was wearing were clearly made for sleeping in and they were also more comfortable than anything she had worn before.

Raising her eyes back to the room before she was overcome by a strange feeling, one that she hadn't expected, nostalgia. _'Have I ever been here before'_ she asked herself as she looked over to the window once again, peeling back the curtains to look outside. This was still the Hidden Leaf Village, the inverted village. _'This room feels so familiar, so homely, so… perfect'_.

The door opens, creaking slightly on the hinges, in a way that could only be endearing in the home. That distinctive plum-red hair poked out from around the side of the door, followed quickly by the ever-friendly face of Nikko. "Good morning" he called holding his hand out like the start of a wave.

Blushing slightly, Hinata pulsed the covers back over her head. Why was someone entering her room with such a care-free attitude. "What are you doing in here?" she called out nervously.

Nikko smiled, scratching the back of his head at this reaction he should have foreseen. "This is my room too, you know".

Hinata also reacted with surprise to this information which she should have seen coming. She didn't though, she hadn't even considered that she and Nikko were that close. If they were that close, shouldn't she have some memory in the back of her mind, some little bit of familiarity with him? "Sorry" she said pulling her head from under the covers as she calmed down, "I still don't remember you".

Nikko's head moved to the side slightly, his eyes dropping just below the mirror on the wall. He had hoped for something else but he didn't dare to expect it. "Of course you don't, I'm sorry" he said, averting his gaze to avoid making Hinata nervous, "I should have knocked or something".

Hinata also looked away, just as before it was a disappointed look that she couldn't bear to witness. There was something about Nikko's face to her, like it was a face made to always be smiling. She could tell that he had great value that way to a shinobi, as long as a shinobi had his smiling face in their mind, they could go on fighting. They could push past their limits, they could keep fighting for a few extra seconds.

The Hyuuga clanswoman remembered that this world may not be real, that this may be the dream world as it was explained to her. It's hard to imagine though, could a world like this really be a dream. It all seemed so real. Nikko's face may well have been exactly how it was because it made her feel this way. This may have just been another trick of the genjutsu to lure her in.

"Nikko, how well do we know each other" she asked, half out of curiosity and half out of dread. Even hell itself could be hard to let go if you had grown attached to the devil. This place was no hell, Nikko was no devil.

"Sorry, haven't I explained that to you yet?" Nikko said with a smile. It looked like the question brought back one thousand and one memories for him. "You are the closest person to me in this world, Hinata".

"I am…?". The closest person to him in the world, Hinata wondered exactly what that meant. Had his family died during his youth, were his parents bad people, or were the two of them really so close that it transcended that?

"I tell you what, why don't I leave s that you can put on some clothes that you're more comfortable in" he said, latching onto the fact that Hinata still felt rather under-dressed. "I could back in ten minutes time".

Hinata nodded. It would be much less awkward for her if they could continue this conversation the same way they would if they had just met each other.

"I could bring back some old photos of our past together if you like" Nikko suggested, "It may help you remember".

"I… uh… OK, please do that" Hinata finally said.

Nikko shouted "Alright" over his shoulder as he left the room, leaving Hinata alone for a few minutes.

It was confusing, how idyllic this place was, even for a genjutsu. There are parts of Hinata's soul which genjutsu have never touch, deep subconscious desires and experiences that only the likes of Sasuke and Madara should be able to draw from her. Hinata wondered if this was a genjutsu just who was able to cast it, was it some monstrously talented shinobi or someone who worked out an abnormally clever trick. Either way, one thing brought a smile to her face, she loved old photos.

She once more looked around the room, she took it in, hoping that regardless of what happened to her she would live in a room like this. She felt like she had been here before though, perhaps on an old holiday or when visiting the house of an old acquaintance.

' _It's very relaxing here, so comfortable and clear'_ she thought, smiling at the whole layout. As she stepped out of bed onto the carpet, she felt the bristles lightly tickle the insides of her toes. _'I'm sure that I have seen it somewhere before'_.

As she walked over to the wardrobe and picked out something to wear, she considered whether this was somewhere from her future. _'I wonder if Naruto would like this sort of room…'_.

A thousand images of Naruto's rooms and living quarters from the past flashed through her mind. He was famous for his like of tidiness. She smiled, _'No, he would hate having to keep a room like this clean. He still keeps his room much like he did when he was younger'_.

She had always wondered how someone capable of creating a thousand clones to protect the village wasn't able to spare one of them from his training to tidy his house up. Still that was how Naruto's mind worked and in a way, she loved that, _'Some things never change, Naruto is definitely stubborn like that…'._

Hinata stopped dead in her tracks as she was about to change, a memory had come to her. She didn't think it was possible for a memory to be so joyous and yet so painful at the same time. She looked back at the bed and then out of the window.

' _Ah, I remember now, I remember where I have seen this room before'_ she told herself in her head, _'It's the room from my dreams'_.

' _Why am I here, why isn't Naruto with me?'_.

 **The Cave**

As unlikely as it seemed, the water in the cave had mostly evaporated, such was the incredible temperature emanating from Maro's body. Naruto had been waiting here for just under a day since he called for help. Of course it had arrived but had yet to approach. It is in the following few seconds that the first person arrived, they approached Naruto. He allowed her to pass through the barrier and escape the incredible field of heat. Truly Tetsuya knew what he was doing when he made his plan, nobody could last for long out there in that heat, even healthy shinobi would begin to feel sick.

The shinobi sent to speak to Naruto was, of course, Sakura.

Entering through the barrier, Sakura immediately breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly removed her head protector and wiped the sweat from her brow. "It's so hot out there" she said to Naruto, noticing that he too was sweating.

"Yea, I know".

He seemed uninterested in making small chat, Sakura though felt the need to emphasise the point to him. This heat really wasn't good. "Naruto, if this barrier goes down she won't last long in this heat, especially with the rate it is rising".

"I know!" Naruto shouted, his voice reverberating throughout the cave. It wasn't the power of the echo but his voice, Sakura had rarely seen him lose temper like this, especially since the end of the war.

Sakura looked at Naruto once again, sweat was dripping from his brow but unlike her, he was inside the barrier. That was just how much effort he was expending to keep this barrier up over such a long period of time. The medical-shinobi was reminded once again that the things Naruto can do are incredible, that he is a chakra monster. However, even for a chakra monster, a technique like this is difficult to keep up over a long period of time. It wasn't the heat getting to him, it was the strain.

"Sorry" Sakura whispered, looking at her own feet, "Of course you know that".

Naruto shook his head, berating himself in his own mind. He wanted to be the Hokage but perhaps he still wasn't ready yet. If he was going to lash out at Sakura in situation like this, he wouldn't be able to become the leader of an entire village in the future. "I'm sorry Sakura" he apologised, "I'm just afraid, that's all".

"I understand".

Naruto leaned his head to the side, resting on an invisible surface. Suddenly he laughed, it was under his breath and unenthusiastic. Sakura knew that Naruto was laughing at his own luck. "You know, I never really knew how it felt to be loved when I was a child" he said, recalling the days of making mischief to even earn some attention, "To have someone who would always think of you before themselves".

"Lots of people cared about you" Sakura replied.

"I know but… my parents had to put me first in the first few minutes of my life" Naruto explained, once more making Kurama feel a pang of guilt in his heart. "That was it, I never understood their love, I never felt that parental love until many years later. It wasn't until people like Iruka sensei and pervy sage came along that I…".

Naruto silenced himself for a moment, considering exactly what he wanted to say to his friend. "She's been the only who made me look forward to waking up each day. I always anticipate seeing her, like it's what I live for".

"Naruto…".

"Each day I wake up and I think, great, it's another day, I can go and see Hinata again" he explained, smiling as he thought of all the things they had done together, all the happiness they had shared. "I can talk to her, I can relax, I can forget my duty, my dream and my obligations, I can just be happy, be myself".

Sakura didn't know how to answer something like that, nothing she could think of would have been an appropriate response. She couldn't imagine the anguish Naruto was going through. When Sasuke roamed the world, Sakura did worry but she was never there to see it and unlike Hinata, Sasuke was nearly impossible to kill. She instead began examining Hinata, remembering all that Lady Tsunade had taught her in the field of medicine.

"Kakashi and Shikamaru are outside but they are keeping clear of the heat field" Sakura explained as she looked at Hinata's eyes and tested her temperature.

"Heat field?" Naruto wasn't aware that it had a specific range.

"It stretches about seven hundred meters in every direction" Sakura continued, "It's a globe shape, though you won't be able to see it here in this cave. You're right in the middle of it".

After completing as thorough an examination as possible, Sakura sighed. When Naruto asked her what was wrong she explained the situation as well as she could. "I've never seen anything like this before Naruto, I don't know how to treat it".

"Would it be fatal to move her away from the heat field?".

"I think it probably would, yes" the medical shinobi answered.

"Dammit" Naruto punched the ground, watching blood slowly start to pour from his knuckles. He cared little though, that didn't bother him, "What are you all doing outside the barrier".

"Kakashi and Shikamaru are trying to establish radio contact with the other Kage. They are seeing if anyone knows how to help Hinata".

In this situation, Naruto held out little hope that the five Kage would be able to help him. He felt that if he couldn't break this genjutsu with his power, there was likely only one person who could. There was probably only one person who would be able to help him and Sakura knew that man better than anyone. He asked after him following a moment's silence, "Where is Sasuke?".

"I don't know" Sakura answered honestly.

"If Sasuke and I worked together we might be able to help her". Sakura was more familiar with the duos combined skills than anyone. If any two people in the world could be depended on to save a life in a situation like this, it was Naruto and Sasuke. "We might be able to think of a solution".

Sakura couldn't offer him any assurances though. Sasuke made himself hard to find on purpose. "I promise that we are trying to find him, we are doing everything we can".

"The rogue leader keeps contacting me. He said that I need to anchor her to his world" Naruto said as he looked past Sakura at the downed Hinata. "It's her dream world and this cave Sakura, how can anyone convince her to choose the cave?".

"Naruto…".

 **The Dream World, Hinata's Room**

Nikko had entered the room again after a few minutes, placing the photo albums down on atop the drawers and opening the first of the albums. This is from the time the duo spent together as shinobi.

"We first met at the academy" Nikko explained as he pointed at a few of the photos. Everyone seemed to get along perfectly, even Sasuke didn't seem antisocial in the images that were being presented. "I was in a tam with Sakura and Sasuke, while you were in a team with Kiba and Shino".

' _He has literally taken Naruto's place then'_ Hinata realised with a twinge of depression. She was certain that Nikko was nice, that he was kind and perhaps even had been designed by her subconscious desires. However, Nikko was not Naruto, he had not been there for Hinata through all the death and destruction, he had not gone to the moon and back to save her. In a way, his perfection was the imperfection, his lack of flaws the source of his inhumanity. If something appears too good to be true, it often is. If a child never falls, they never show their character by standing up again.

"I can remember the others" Hinata said with a smile, at least trying to play along to satisfy Nikko, "I remember the other teams, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino…".

"Back in those days you always looked so lonely and so nervous" Nikko said as he pointed at a picture of a young Hinata. Hinata noted that it seemed her child-self hadn't changed much between the worlds. "I thought you were cool though" he continued, "You were the only girl who wasn't drooling over Sasuke".

"Yeah" Hinata nodded. It seemed that Sasuke's appeal in his youth crossed the world's too, although perhaps in this world his attitude was a bit better.

"I stuck by your side as you became a better shinobi. Your skills just kept on improving and you started to leave us all the dust" Nikko explained. This was where the dream world and real world differed for Hinata. It seemed in this world her talent was far greater. "You and Sasuke were clearly the most talented shinobi amongst us".

Hinata was slightly taken aback, she had become an adept shinobi, fighting valiantly during the 4th war. She had never been on the same level as Sasuke though, the two of them had never been comparable. She had always strived to catch up with those ahead of her but never been able to do so.

"Neji?" she asked.

"Neji was talented in the same way as Sasuke but he couldn't compare to the two of you, not after a few years anyway" Nikko continued his story, a look of awe on his face. It was like he was telling the story of his own hero to a stranger, "Unlike Neji, you were able to catch up to Sasuke because you were a genius of hard work".

"And what about you?" Hinata asked out of politeness.

"I wasn't much of a talent" Nikko admitted as he scratched the back of his head. "I mostly just stuck by your side and picked up a few things from you. Your attitude influenced mine and I improved".

' _No, this isn't right, I wasn't the talented shinobi, I wasn't the genius of hard work, that was Naruto'_ Hinata told herself. Nikko's thoughts about her were a lot like hers about Naruto. She had been inspired by him, she had made it her ninja way to never give up. _'Naruto was the one who made all the improvements, Naruto was the one who left the rest of us behind'_.

"It took me a long time to work up the nerve, but I eventually asked you to go on a date with me" Nikko said, slightly bashful about the time of his life. It seemed that he found Hinata a bit above him, "I don't know whether it was pity at first or just boredom but you said yes".

"I did?". Hinata didn't know what to say, how could she possibly comment on her past actions if she didn't remember them. Or maybe there was nothing to comment on, maybe they never happened at all.

"I'm afraid so and we never really looked back since" Nikko said, looking through of the photos of them when they started dating. He had felt incredible back then, like when Hinata was around nothing would go wrong. Hinata's unwavering attitude, her hard-work, just like a certain leaf-shinobi from the real world.

"I decided that being a shinobi wasn't for me so I moved into a job that suited our lives better" he said, making over-the-top gestures to describe his new job. Hinata was confused, Nikko may have appeared ideal in many ways but his miming wasn't one of them. "I became a gardener… a bit boring compared to the leader of the Sensing and Tracking team but I enjoy it".

Hinata walked over to the window once again, looking down at the garden in front of the house. She did like it, more than she thought she ever would. Perhaps this was part of one of the forgotten dreams. "It's beautiful" she praised.

"Thank you…".

Hinata lowered her head. _'Naruto and I don't have gardens, we're both too busy to maintain things like that'_ she told herself. It was true, both worked full-time as shinobi. Naruto was having to work far harder than anyone else, preparing himself to become the next Hokage. _'We both have to spend so much time away from home, there is no way we could ever keep a garden like that…'_.

"Our wedding was unusual. We got married by the sea".

Hinata turned around quickly, almost in alarm at the statement.

Nikko smiled, "We were married on a Wednesday".

This was getting too much, too real for Hinata. "We're married…".

"Of course" her husband answered, lifting his hand to show the wedding ring. "Afterwards you said you wanted to dance with the waves. So we… danced to the rhythm of the ocean".

' _A coastal wedding, I've always wanted one'_ Hinata recalled all the dreams of that day, though it was a different person, _'There is no doubt about it, this world it's… it's all of my ideals'_.

"We left to go on our honeymoon by boat. Sasuke and Sakura arranged it for us" Nikko recalled. Evidently, they had been close to the other members of team 7 just as Naruto and Hinata had been in the real world. "I couldn't keep my balance very well but you were always there to…".

Interrupting her husband's sentence, Hinata collapsed. Falling towards the floor, an arm wrapped around her waist, stopping her from hurting herself. Nikko finished his sentence aptly, "… you were always there to catch me…".

 **The Cave**

Hinata, in keeping with her dream-world faint, woke up in the real world. She looked around at the surface of the cave. Parts of it seemed to be steaming, other parts seemed to be completely devoid of liquid. A short way in the distance she could see a strong orange source of light, slowly creeping in through the entrance of the cave. It didn't feel like the sun though, it felt terrible, this whole place gave her a strange feeling. It was beginning to seem less like reality to her and more like hell.

"Naruto…" she whispered.

Both Naruto and Sakura quickly moved to Hinata's side. "Hinata, are you OK?" Naruto asked anxiously.

"This… it all feels so strange" she answered, looking between the two of them. She didn't remember Sakura coming, how did Sakura get there. Had seconds passed in this world, or hours, or days. Was the situation the same as before, was this even the same cave still.

What caused her more anxiety than anything else was the look on Naruto's face. Somehow to her, Naruto always looked invincible, like a constant in her life that couldn't be changed, broken or stopped. This look was different though, a look she never wanted to see, a look of helplessness.

"Hinata, it's Sakura. I need you to answer a few questions" the medical shinobi said as she looked into her friend's eyes. "How is your vision?".

"Blurry…".

Sakura quickly moved her hand down to grip Hinata's wrist, continuing her questions as she did so. She didn't have long to work. "Can you hear me clearly?".

"An echo…" Hinata answered, ironically repeating what she had said last time she was awake, "Sounds like an echo".

"She's displaying the sort of signs someone would during REM" Sakura said, drawing a confused look from Naruto. She immediately understood the meaning behind the gaze, he didn't want a medical lecture right now. "It's part of the sleep cycle, this is… this feels like a dream to her".

"Naruto… why is it like this… why is it so cold here… it's like a nightmare".

The Hokage-in-training was slightly relieved, it was far better that Hinata complained about it being cold than hot. He certainly wouldn't want her to have to endure the hellish heat outside. "A rogue shinobi is trying to attack you" he answered, "Don't worry he won't be able to while I'm here".

She reached her hand up, trailing it along Naruto's forehead and starting slightly while she did so. She was starting to gain more control, a greater grasp of reality. "You're sweating so much" she gasped.

The other two thought Hinata probably realised why this was. The effort Naruto was putting into keeping her safe, it was excessively difficult even by his standards. The fact that anyone could hold back the heat with a barrier for so long was a testament to their great might.

"Naruto, I'm afraid…".

"It will be OK Hinata, I promise nothing bad will happen to you" he said, clutching her hand and trying everything he can to comfort her. "I promise".

A promise from Naruto, even with that anxious look on his face, was enough to calm Hinata slightly. Even people who had never met him would relax greatly when Uzumaki Naruto made them a promise, for Hinata who knew what sort of person he was, it was even more reassuring.

That's why saying what she said next hurt her so much. She gulped down a mouthful of air and admitted the truth of her dream.

"Naruto… in my dream… you weren't there".

"That's probably just part of the genjutsu" Sakura explained, shrugging her shoulders, "Don't read too much into it, it's nothing to worry about, you just need to focus on getting better".

"It was someone else…". Hinata was determined to finish, "I'm so sorry… I was married to someone else…".

With those few words, Hinata fainted. Leaving reality and returning to the dream world once again.

Naruto, not knowing what to do with himself just sighed and turned to face the barrier once more. How was he supposed to take that news? His girlfriend's dream world and she was married to someone else. There was no way to take that news well, so he did what he could, focused on the barrier, concentrated.

Sakura averted her eyes, she couldn't look at him like this. She felt she had to say something though, she was his friend after all. "Naruto, it's probably that way on purpose, I wouldn't think about…".

"It makes sense you know" he interrupted her, "There are so many things she has always wanted that I can't give her". Sakura knew that Naruto would take this to heart. He was someone who always tried to the right thing, especially by Hinata. Sometimes, you can't do everything you want, perfection doesn't exist, not even for Naruto. "It would make sense that she would be with someone smarter, who gives her more time, who doesn't shout about his silly dream to become the Hokage".

Hearing him talk his own dream down, that was something Sakura couldn't bear to hear. She had heard him say that he would be Hokage more times than anyone else, at that moment of all times, when it appeared certain he would be the next Hokage. "Naruto, please stop…".

"The temperature is rising Sakura, you won't be able to stand the heat outside the barrier soon. You better go back to safety".

He hadn't said that out of concern for her safety alone, he had said that because he wanted to be alone.

"You have to make her hold onto this world Naruto, otherwise she might die".

"It's a dream world, Sakura".

"It can't truly be her dream world, Naruto…" Sakura said, hoping that if she could say one last thing it would make a difference to him. "… because you're not there with her".

"Go" Naruto ordered her, that was the voice Sakura wanted to here. That was an order, made purely out of concern for Naruto's comrades. An order from a Hokage. "I could never risk your life by keeping you here too".

"… you will get through this Naruto, both of you".

Sakura left, running through the heat field back towards the safe region where Kakashi and Shikamaru were waiting.

" _Now that I think about it, this world really is less than ideal for her, right Kurama?"._

" _Reality is ideal for nobody, Naruto"._

All the people they had met together. Neji. Gaara. Nagato. Itachi. Obito. Madara. Sasuke. They both knew that was definitely the case. However, Naruto had never given up before.

" _Why does anybody cling to reality at all"_ Kurama asked.

" _Huh"._

The nine-tails wasn't much of a philosopher but continued as best he could. _"There must be something mustn't there? Something that makes everyone cling to reality. You may not know what it is but it's definitely there, for every man, woman and child"._

" _So keep holding onto reality, Naruto, and never let go"._

 **The Dream World, Hinata's Room**

Hinata woke on her bed once again. This time she was wearing the same clothes as she had put on earlier. She slowly remembered, she had fainted when Nikko had told her about their wedding. Looking to the side, she spotted him, he was still there, perhaps he hadn't left her since she fainted. A parallel between the two worlds. Two men holding out hope that she will be OK, waiting for her to wake up.

"Hinata, are you alright?" he asked, leaning forward the moment he realised she was awake.

"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine" she said.

"I was worried about you. You fainted in the middle of our conversation". Nikko was clearly very alert, not distracted at all when discussing this. Hinata wondered if he was always like this, if he was always so caring. Caring, just like Naruto. "Do you remember?".

"Our conversation" Hinata murmured, "Yes, our conversation about our wedding".

Hinata sat up in her bed, noticing the photo album was now on her side table. She picked it up, running her finger along the front cover before opening it. She looked so happy in each of the photos, they both did. Looking through this album, her own wedding album, should have been happy for Hinata but she couldn't help but react differently. Her breathing accelerated and she began to panic.

"No" Hinata said, "No, no, no, no" she threw the pictures away, watching as they scattered over the floor, she had lost her level-headedness. She couldn't keep calm under these circumstances, no matter how she tried. "This isn't real… this isn't real… it's all fake…".

"Hinata, this is real" Nikko insisted, a pained look on his face as he picked his photos up from the floor. Each one of these was a precious memory for him. "This all happened, I promise".

"None of this ever happened, this is a dream" Hinata snapped, angrier than she had been with anyone in a long time. "I'm not your wife. I'm in love with a man named Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto. This is all just a dream world, a fantasy".

"This is the Somnium talking". Hinata's husband pleaded with her, hints of tears could be seen in his eyes. Hinata knew that none of this was his fault but she couldn't help how she felt. She was enraged. "This isn't how you really feel. It's part of the disease Hinata, you just need more rest".

Nikko reached towards Hinata but she immediately pulled away from him.

"He was a talentless shinobi who kept working hard, he kept getting stronger, he never gave up. He was the genius of hard work!".

"That was you!".

The couple shouted back and forth.

"No, it was him. Everyone tried to bully him and make him feel so small and insignificant" she remembered the pain she felt, watching people bully Naruto. She remembered feeling agony to mirror his own each time he failed. "But he just kept getting up, he kept standing up and never giving up. He dreamed of being the Hokage, he kept working hard, he won the war, he saved me from Toneri!".

Nikko positioned his palms so they were facing the ground, slowly lowering his hands, he calmed them both down. There was no point in them getting angry and shouting at one another. "It's all part of your imagination Hinata, it's the disease, it's a dream".

Hinata picked up another photo album, getting ready to throw it. "No" she shouted, "This is the dream".

As the photo album raised above her head, a single photo dropped out that made her stop in her tracks. It was like she had been punched in the gut. It was a terrifying blow that could shatter her grip on reality.

A scream came from the door as it opened and a young boy ran in. A young boy with plum-red hair and blue eyes. Just like Nikko.

"Hey there" Nikko said as he picked up the young boy, "I don't think she is quite ready for a visit yet".

Nikko took the boy out of the room, a few minutes passing before he came back. Hinata hadn't moved an inch in that time.

"Who was…".

"I don't think you're ready for that" Nikko interrupted her.

Hinata was unperturbed though, speaking once more, "Who was that young boy Nikko?".

The answer was just as terrifying as she had feared. Perhaps the final nail in her invisible coffin. That was the first time Hinata collapsed without the genjutsu being the cause. The answer itself was what caused her to faint.

"… your son".


	4. Took Ill

LUCID – TOOK ILL

 **The Dream World, Hinata's Room**

Hinata woke atop her bed, still in the same clothes as the night before. She raised her head up, noticing that once again the weather was sunny and beautiful. The sun shone through the gap in the curtains, creating a thin wall of light across the room. Across the other side of that wall was Nikko, her husband. He hadn't changed either, he was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed and his eyes barely open.

Nikko was looking out the window through the gap in the curtains, he had noticed that his wife had woken up but he hadn't said anything. A quick glance was all he offered. That garden that they had always wanted to wake up to each morning, this beautiful wall of sun that had always filled their lives with joy, it seemed so much sadder than it always had before, at least to him.

Hinata spun around, sitting upright on the bed and looking downwards for a few moments. It was all so much to take in for her. A child, how could she not remember it if she had a child. How could all of this have happened without her knowing, how could she remember so much about Naruto and nothing about this? "How long have you been waiting" she asked, getting to her feet and walking around to sit on the short-end of the bed.

"All night" he said, his gaze unwavering, "I wanted to make sure that you were alright, even if you don't want to be here".

The way he phrased it was so painful. Clearly, whether it be truth or lies, this world was using everything it had its disposal to pull her in. Every time she rejected the dream world it hurt. Every time she had accepted it, it had felt incredible.

"This world is a dream". Hinata reasserted her viewpoint once again. Perhaps in some part of her mind she understood how dire the situation was, that this world was a forbidden fruit, designed only to tempt her.

"No, this is reality, it just seems like a dream because of the disease". Nikko looked away from the window for the first time, once more looking Hinata in the eye. His former tiredness had seemed to wash away, replaced by a look of anger. His eyes were wide open. "This incredible life that you lead, it's because you earned it yourself".

"You can't earn good luck" Hinata said. Between herself and Naruto, they had felt so much suffering. Even the world's most revered shinobi, who had never given up, had lost people close to him. "Luck is… Luck is only guaranteed in dreams".

"It's not a dream".

"That child…". The child was somewhat of a deal-changer for Hinata. Anyone finds it hard to bring themselves to reject a child. The fact that this young boy called her his mother, that made it all the more difficult.

"That child is your son" Nikko shouted. He could tolerate any misgivings Hinata had towards himself but their son was a different matter for him.

"No, that isn't possible" Hinata said, her head shaking from side-to-side. She was in complete denial. "That can't possibly be my son".

"He is your son. He just is". It seemed that even the dream world gentleman could get flustered. "You can even ask your sister if you want, she's downstairs right now". Hanabi had been helping Nikko to take care of his son during Hinata's recent bout of illness.

"Hanabi is here?".

Nikko drew his eyes to the side, looking away with a sigh. "So, you remember her". It had seemed from his point of view, that Hinata could remember everyone other than those most important to her. "She's downstairs, I will go and get her if you want".

"Please".

A few minutes passed while Nikko went downstairs to ask Hanabi for help. He seemed to have run out of options, unable to get through to his own wife. Hinata was excited though, she felt like she hadn't met Hanabi in years, though struggled to remember why. Perhaps her sister would be different to everyone else, perhaps she would believe her.

The door creaked open and a young woman stepped through, her whitened eyes clearly marking her as a child of the Hyuuga clan. Hinata was thrilled in her heart, this was definitely Hanabi.

"Hanabi" she called out, running over to her sister and giving her a tight hug.

For a few moments, Hanabi hugged her back lightly, comforting her. Whether her behaviour was acceptable or not, Hinata was recognised to be ill by the residents of this world. "Hello Hinata" she said, releasing her sister and grabbing her by the arms, "I hear that you don't believe he is your son".

"Hanabi, this s a dream world" Hinata felt like she was banging her head against a brick wall, hoping for it to fall. "Please, you have to help me".

"This isn't a dream world sis, this is real" Hanabi said, her eyes showing the same sadness that Nikko's had been every time Hinata had discussed this previously. "He really is son, he is I promise and Nikko is your husband".

"No. I've never met him before" Hinata replied, turning her back and walking back over to her bedside table, looking at the photo album she had attempted to throw away previously. "These pictures are all dreams, they are all fake".

"Sis…".

"Please, you have to remember the other world" Hinata begged, hoping that there is just one spark of a memory in her sister's mind. "Uzumaki Naruto, you know Uzumaki Naruto right".

"Uzumaki Naruto doesn't exist".

"Naruto saved you from Toneri" Hinata yelled, snapping at her sister. "Naruto saved the world in the 4th great shinobi war. He's the village's hero".

"There hasn't been a 4trh war" Hanabi answered, shaking her head as if speaking to a foolish child, "This is all in your head".

"I'm begging you, you have to remember".

"No sister, you are the one who is forgetting things. You have a husband and a son out there". Hanabi pointed her finger at the door, furiously waving it. She had been angered by knowledge that Hinata didn't have. Knowledge of her son's current condition. "I'm begging you, yo have to be strong for him".

Hinata shook her head again. "No… no… I… I…".

Illness struck once more. Hinata fainted.

 **The Cave**

Hinata immediately woke up in the cave. It was looking worse than ever here. The heat, the light, it was like a scene straight out of hell. A barrier was being put up against that hell, a thin wall of light which could just barely be made out. Hinata was getting quicker at adapting back to reality. She was beginning to become calmer, to understand what was going on. Unlike her previous times when she woke up here, this doesn't feel so uncontrolled anymore. This time is a controlled dream.

This place couldn't truly be hell though. Not while there was still one person keeping that barrier up, one person here still looking after her, one person here who loved her. That was of course, Naruto. His breaths were heavier than before, he looked as if he was trying some sort of respiratory technique to maintain his stamina. His back was completely drenched in sweat. He didn't seem depressed though, his resolve seemed strong to her, like he could hold on for a million years if he needed to. That is just the sort of person that he was to Hinata.

"Naruto…" she called out… "Naruto… Naruto…". She was struggling to raise her voice much. For all the control she had this time, it was her body that was failing her, her voice specifically.

Upon hearing the voice, Naruto didn't hesitate, immediately moving as fast as he could to Hinata's side. He gripped hold of her hand tightly, just like that day and did everything he could to let her know that he was there waiting for her. "I'm here Hinata" he said, moving her hair from her eyes with his other hand.

"This is real isn't it" she asked. Though, it was unlikely he would admit to it, even if this world weren't real. "Is that really you, Naruto?".

"Yes" he answered, nodding his head furiously. "Yes, this is the real world. I'm really Naruto, I promise". He touched his head against her palm, as if praying to an invisible deity hidden in her soul. Frankly though, he was relieved, Hinata was awake.

"It feels so dream-like" Hinata said. While she felt like she had more control over her senses this time, the symptoms still persevered. A blurriness in her eye, the echo of Naruto's voice each time he spoke. The symptoms this time though, they were a bit weaker than previous times.

"Naruto… could you tell me about our past".

Hinata's sudden question caught Naruto off-guard slightly. Their past hadn't always been happy, he wasn't sure if he wanted to tell Hinata of any sad stories in this moment. He decided that he had to do what he could and simply tell Hinata what he thought she would want to hear.

"We first fell in love during the incident with the moon" he explained, omitting any of the specific unpleasant details involving Hanabi's capture and Toneri. "I think I loved you before that but I never really knew how to express it. Oh, and you gave me a scarf around that time. A wonderful knitted scarf".

Naruto reached into his pocket, fumbling around looking for something to show Hinata. "I'm afraid that scarf got ruined during a fight but you made me another one and I still have it here with me". Naruto showed the scarf to Hinata, explaining that he treasured it and took it with him wherever he went.

"Yes" Hinata whispered. She would have closed her eyes and pictured the moment in different circumstances, she didn't want to fall asleep though. "I remember knitting that scarf".

"On our first date we ate ramen" Naruto explained, recalling that most of their friends seemed to be mysteriously nearby. "We didn't have to pay, I think everyone was trying to make it go well secretly". There were often offered to eat for free in restaurants regardless, many people were unendingly grateful to Naruto for his actions in the war.

"On our second date we went dancing" he said. That had been Hinata's suggestion. "I was kind of bad but I tried my best honestly". Admittedly, neither Hinata nor Naruto were particularly great dancers, they both enjoyed it when they could though.

Hinata laughed under her breath. "Who would have thought such a skilled shinobi could be so uncoordinated on the dance floor". Naruto had to spend most of their second date apologising having fallen into other people in the dance hall. They became rather quick to forgive him when they realised who he was.

"In the other world they claimed my wedding dance was perfect" she explained, "A dance with the ocean".

Naruto was naturally hurt by hearing this. He knew that there dancing had never been perfect in Hinata's eyes. "That world isn't real Hinata, I'm sorry but our dancing will still require a lot of work before it's perfect. Still, I want to keep practicing with you, I never thought I could have fun doing something like that".

"The other world makes seem so perfect".

Naruto paused, taking a moment to recover from the emotional beating he was being dealt. "Hinata, you have to hold onto the real world, please. Otherwise that perfect dance will never be reality, it will just be a dream".

"There is something else I… I have to tell you" she said.

"What is it?".

"In other world, there was a child" Hinata was reluctant to tell Naruto these things, she didn't want to hurt him but felt that she owed it to him to be honest.

"A child?".

Nodding, she continued, "My child".

"Hinata… it's not…".

"He was such a beautiful child" she said, smiling before once more, drifting off to sleep, fainting.

"Hinata" Naruto whispered. He knew in his heart that she had always wanted children. It was just another genius move by the genjutsu caster, a move designed not only to get to Hinata but to get to him.

 **The Dream World, Hinata's Room**

Hinata woke up on the bed once again. She was starting to get used to this. She felt like she would never leave this room again in the dream world, like perhaps she should have been put into some sort of care. The sun wasn't peering in through the curtains this time, they were wide open but it was dark. The night had descended. Sitting up, Hinata realised that once again, someone had stayed to look after her. Hanabi.

Hanabi looked even more irritated than Nikko. It seemed that when pushed she could really lose her temper. At least that's how it seemed to Hinata at the time. The elder Hyuuga sister wasn't to know that there were other circumstances at play, circumstances that made what she had done seem like particularly poor behaviour.

"Is this the dream world or the real world?" Hinata asked, rubbing her eyes as she got up from the bed. She didn't feel like she had been resting, no, it had been a restless sleep.

"This is the real world" Hanabi answered.

Hinata looking around quickly questioned this, she was sure that this place had been the dream world. Although her senses were getting clearer in the other world, the more time she spent in the dream world, the more she grew accustomed to it. The more she adjusted and integrated into its pattern of reality. She didn't know why she asked retrospectively, everywhere she went people told her that she was in the real world. Who was she supposed to believe.

"This is the world where your husband and child are waiting for you" Hanabi said, remembering clearly that her sister believed this world to be fake.

Hinata was sure, certain that this world wasn't real at one point. She cast her mind to the other world, to Naruto, to her friends. She was sure that she remembered everyone in the other world. That must have been real, this place couldn't have been real. She shook her head, holding it in her hands in despair. "No, no, no, no, this isn't the real world, this is the dream world".

Hanabi was no longer angry, just sad, Hinata could see the tears starting to form in her eyes. They definitely looked real, the sadness in the room didn't feel fake or misplaced. "Sister, please, you have to stop saying that. This is the real world, we all want our Hinata back".

"I'm not the same Hinata" she said, almost an apology rather than a rebuttal. "My son, my husband, we're not really all what you guys think. They're not real, I've never met them before".

"Do you even realise what has happened" Hanabi said, her hand frantically pointing at the door. "Do you even realise why your husband and your son aren't here right now?".

"What are you talking about?". Hinata was definitely confused, how could she know what had happened, even if this was the real world, she couldn't have found out while unconscious.

"Your son has been taken ill. He's in the hospital right now" Hanabi explained. "Don't you remember that he ran in screaming last night. He's been feeling unwell for over a day now and Nikko had to take him to hospital while you were out".

Hinata didn't know what to say.

"You may not remember him Hinata, but you're his mother and your shouting about he isn't even real, how could you do that?".

The elder sister hesitated for a minute. Even if Naruto wasn't real, even if he was a dream figure that she made up, she wanted to do what he would have done. She wanted to do the right thing. "I… I… I'm going to go…".

"Sister?".

"I'll go" Hinata said, raising her head to look her sister in the eyes, "I want to see him".

Hanabi smiled, she knew she shouldn't in the present situation but she couldn't help it. "Alright, that's good, really good, we'll go and see him now".

 **The Dream World, The Hospital**

Nikko and Hinata waited outside the examination room, looking in through the clear window at Sakura and their son. Nikko had asked to enter the room with him but given his condition, Sakura didn't want to risk any diseases being spread if it was contagious. Their son was to come into contact with as few people as possible, that was Sakura's request.

She exited the room, looking at the married couple with a sigh. Nikko was her teammate, her friend and he had to bring his two dearest family members to her in recent days. She knew he must be having a hard time of it.

"Well, he came in and his condition was bad at the time" Sakura explained, "It seems that he got poisoned when he cut himself, probably on one of your old kunai or something".

Nikko knew how Hinata must have felt upon hearing this. She was the only active shinobi in the house, it was almost certainly her that was at fault. "Hinata…".

"I'm sorry" Hinata said, fidgeting with her hands as she tried to think of the words to explain, "I don't remember things at the moment, I must have left it somewhere he could…".

She was stopped by a hand on her shoulder, a reassuring hand. "It's fine" Nikko said, "I'll make sure he can't do anything dangerous with your stuff when we go home, OK?".

Hinata nodded reluctantly before making a concession to the dream world she wasn't sure she should. A concession she made out of instinct. "Can I see him?" she asked.

"Of course".

Hinata entered the room, looking at her son who had been unwell previously. She didn't know if he truly was her son but if he was, she hadn't been there for him when he needed her most.

The young red-haired child looked up at Hinata, confusion clear in his deep blue eyes. "Mommy…" he said.

That was it for Hinata, she couldn't take it. She fell to her knees before the child, hugging him tightly. She had made mistakes before but never one this important. Whether it be because this is the real world, or because this is the dream world, what happened to her son was a big changing point in her life.

"I'm sorry" she said, tears falling from her eyes onto the top of her son's head, "I'm so sorry, this is all my fault".

"Mommy, can we go home?".

"Of course we can, that's we're going" she nodded, pulling back to look him in the eyes, "We're going back home right now, OK".

"OK".

 **The Cave**

Naruto found himself completely alone. He didn't know what to say, so he spoke to the person he always felt he could talk to. He spoke to Hinata. Although she wasn't awake, her presence was more comforting to him than anyone else could be. He thought about what he said to her the last time she was awake, about their past.

"You know, I think that all the times we've spent together have been great". Thinking the sentence through after saying it, he realised that wasn't true. During Pain's attack on the village, the certainly suffered through a lot together.

"Maybe things have gone wrong and it's been less than perfect but we've had fun all the same" he said, smiling at the memories. "Every time we tripped over each other's feet may have seemed clumsy but it was fun because we would always catch each other".

He continued. "And ramen may not have been the food of fantasy but it was always fun competing to see who could more. Even if I did always lose".

As Hinata lay motionless, Naruto snickered to himself. "I suppose I could never compete with a dream".

"I thought combating dreams was what we're famous for" a voice called from over his shoulder.

Naruto turned around, behind him was a man roughly the same height as himself. He had a cloak that hid his body from the neck down and jet-black hair with eyes to match. Of course, only one person could get to him here, through this heat.

Uchiha Sasuke.

"I'm sorry I took so long to get here" Sasuke said as he walked over and inspected Hinata with his rinnegan.

The rinnegan and Sasuke never failed to impress Naruto. Very few people in history had manifested this eye and Sasuke was the first one who fought with Naruto as an ally. The eyes of the sage of six paths, anyone would feel comforted looking into them. Unless you were going to fight against him.

"Any thoughts?".

"It's a genjutsu" Sasuke said bluntly, immediately making Naruto question his decision to bring him here. Sometimes Sasuke seemed to say everything as if it were obvious. When it was it seemed patronising, when it wasn't it seemed insulting. Despite this, the two of them actually got along rather well. "I've never seen a genjutsu like this before".

"That doesn't sound good" Naruto said.

Sasuke had travelled the entire world. After his evil deeds of the past, he decided to use his power to fight for a better future. There had been threats to security since the 4th war, but it had usually been Sasuke who had resolved them. If he, who had seen more of the shinobi world than anyone else, didn't have any recollection of similar techniques to this one, it must have been very rare and unusual indeed.

Sasuke placed his hand on Hinata's shoulder, focusing his chakra on the point of contact. _'Release'_.

The overwhelming burst of chakra did nothing.

Sasuke looked up to see Naruto glaring at him. "Sorry, I'm guessing you already tried that". It was an unusual thought for the Uchiha, that someone with an equally astonishing level of chakra would be present at the scene.

A laugh resounded in the minds of the two shinobi. Tetsuya was contacting them again. _"And now Uchiha Sasuke is here too… it seems we are outfoxing the two mightiest shinobi in the lands"._

" _Who are you?"_ Sasuke sent back.

" _Seta Tetsuya, leader of the rogue shinobi. We are the chaos that will rise from the ashes of the order you two have built"._ Tetsuya was making a righteous proclamation, it had been a long time since anyone showed such confidence before Sasuke. _"Still, I thought you would put up more of a resistance, would you like a hint? Hahaha"._

" _You bastard…"._

Sasuke interrupted, placing his hand in front of Naruto as a gesture to stop. _"Go for it"_ he said, he didn't mind swallowing his pride if it would earn an extra bit of information.

" _We are now on day 4 of Hinata's dream"_ he explained, _"If she hasn't woken up by day 7, she will die"._

" _Hyuuga Hanabi is missing and you are the presumed cause, is she dead"._

Sasuke's question embarrassed Naruto slightly, in the present circumstances his attention had been entirely on Hinata, he had forgotten her sister had gone missing.

Tetsuya laughed at them, _"No more hints I'm afraid"._

" _Well then"_ Sasuke began an analysis, _"There are two ways to break this genjutsu. Either Hinata works out the trick to it. Or I kill the caster"._

" _It's a good thought but you will never be able to find us"._

Naruto feared this to be the case, they must be well hidden if they avoided detection by himself and Sasuke up to this point.

" _You have covered your tracks well, not even Naruto or I have been able to find you"_ Sasuke admitted, mirroring his friend's thought process, _"But it seems that you have left me with a golden chance, a loose end"._

Sasuke walked out of Naruto's barrier, manifesting the ribcage of a Susano to protect himself while doing so. He then, step by step, calmly approached the source of the heat. It was as if Maro had no effect on him.

" _Maro will never talk"_ Tetsuya barked, _"He is determined enough to endure this pain, he can endure anything"._

" _Is that what you think, he can endure anything"_ Sasuke was clearly mocking the rogue leader. _"It seems that you still have a lot to learn"._

" _Allow me to show you… the power of a true genjutsu…"._

 **The Dream World**

Hinata came home with Nikko and their son. This was her first time approaching their house from the outside. It was subtle and quaint, just like she had always wished for in her future. She wondered if that sort of things would be possible with Naruto, he was almost certainly going to become Hokage, after all.

Heading inside, Hinata didn't know where any of the light switches were but Nikko pushed past her and threw the lights on. As she hadn't been in this house in the real world, nothing seemed inverted to Hinata, it wasn't backwards like the rest of the world appeared to be. In that sense, it truly did feel like a home.

Nikko put his hand on her shoulder, beginning to scour through the rooms on the ground floor. "I'm going to search the house to make sure that everything is safe for him".

"The window, behind me and to the left" Hinata said.

Nikko looked in that direction. "Wow" he whispered to himself, walking over and picking up the kunai which had been left next to the window. "Did you remember putting it there?".

"No". Hinata smiled, opening her eyes to reveal her Byakugan. "I just have good eyesight". She had to admit, being the cool shinobi in the family certainly felt cool, if nothing else.

"Why don't you put him to bed and tell him a story" Nikko said, pushing hard for Hinata to accept the world just a bit more.

"Yeah" she said, nodding gently, "Yeah I can do that".

She took her son upstairs and asked him what kind of story she usually told him.

"You normally make one up" he said.

"Oh OK". She had hoped for a bit more guidance than that, she had never been a great story teller before. That was something she really struggled with.

She thought to herself about the best stories she had ever heard. She hadn't really been told many good stories when she was a child herself. She hadn't heard any other parents tell stories either. She sighed under her breath, betting that Naruto would be good at telling stories to children, that he would share the same enthusiasm for a story that he would expect others to get out of it.

Then she smiled, she definitely knew one good story.

"There was once a great hero".  
"A young man who everyone looked down upon and spurned".  
"They treated him like dirt, like a germ".  
"He was urged by demons hidden in his soul, they urged him to take revenge, to get his own back on them".  
"However, the young man didn't want revenge, he wanted to be respected, so he fought, he scratched and he clawed".

Hinata looked at the awe-inspired expression on her son's face, evidently this story was quite appealing to him.

"He tried everything he could to get stronger, to earn their respect".  
"Then a great war came to the world and when nobody else could win, that hero rose to the occasion".  
"He saved the world and became the most respected man alive, all because he never gave up".

Hinata smiled to herself, whether that world was something she dreamt up, whether that world was real, the story of Uzumaki Naruto was definitely her favourite.

"I've never heard this story before" her son said, looking up from on his pillow, "Is that hero real".

A vision came to Hinata, a vision of Naruto struggling to keep up that barrier, to protect her in the other world.

"I… I… I… no" she said, "I only dreamt him up".

Leaving the room, she came face to face with her husband once again. Clearly Nikko was satisfied with today's progress. When the day started, neither of them had expected it to end with Hinata being so accepting of her son.

"So, do you still believe this world isn't real?" Nikko asked.

"I don't know" she admitted, her memories of Naruto still vividly in her mind. "But… I want to believe… at least I want to believe… that my love for my son is real".

Nikko smiled, hugging Hinata. This time the Hyuuga clanswoman didn't shy awake from the hug, just accepting it. Slowly but surely, she was beginning to accept the world around her.

"I'll be in the guest room if you need anything" Nikko said, releasing his wife and heading to the spare bedroom. "I'll see you tomorrow".

Hinata quietly crept into her room, minding the squeaking door with her son asleep she quickly fell into her bed. It only took a few moments for her to fall asleep, though she had barely been awake today she felt exhausted. No sooner than she fell asleep in the dream world, she awoke in the real world.

 **The Cave**

"Naruto" Hinata called as soon as she woke up. Her voice was much stronger this time, as was her consciousness. It was like she was learning to control her dream state. The blurriness had decreased, the echo was quieter. "Be honest, is this world real".

Every time she questioned the existence of his world, it pained Naruto. He had spent years doing his best to look after this world, he hadn't always been successful but he had never given up. He always thought that counted for something.

"Hinata, this is the real world" he said. He made eye contact in an attempt to reassure Hinata but could feel that it wasn't having as much affect as he wanted. "You have to hold onto this world no matter what, no matter how good the other world seems".

"Could you hug me?".

Naruto was delighted to do so. He hugged Hinata tightly, never wanting to let go.

She smiled. _'Yes, I feel something with Naruto that I don't with Nikko… is this sensation love'_. Her smile quickly disappeared when her other family member popped into her head. That young boy, she had felt something when she spoke with him. _'Naruto is amazing, he understands things the rest of us don't, he'll be able to tell me'_.

"Naruto".

"Yes?".

"What exactly is love?".


	5. Grew Worse

**LUCID – GREW WORSE**

 **Outside the Heat Field**

The scene was very different to what it was before. Gone are the chaotic beginnings of a base organised by an anxious Shikamaru and a distressed Kakashi. The situation here had changed entirely, with the Hokage and his assistant at the head of a large group of planners and thinkers. A team of medical shinobi are on hand ready for any situation that should arise. Members of the Hyuuga clan, present not only for Hinata's sake but for as their unique skillset. If there is a true advantage of the peace Naruto and Sasuke had brought to the world it is this mobility. The entire might of the Hidden Leaf has been mobilised for this purpose, to save Naruto and Hinata.

However, it was the greatest power at their disposal that was the story for them here. Sasuke left the barrier, running quickly from Maro's side to the side of his teacher and comrade. Sasuke held his hand out, prompting Shikamaru to immediately give him his radio, a line straight to the other Kage. Sakura came running, alongside several Hyuuga clansmen, eager to hear what Sasuke had to say.

"This is Uchiha Sasuke" he began, "I managed to get the location of the enemy's hideout from the burning rogue shinobi over there. It is to the east of the Hidden Rain".

He didn't stop to take in the looks of amazement from his fellow shinobi. Kakashi, Sakura, Shikamaru, they were familiar with the true extent of Sasuke's abilities but the others had no idea. They were blown away. Not only had the Uchiha managed to survive in that blazing heat, he had managed to conduct an interrogation on an enemy he couldn't even touch.

"We need to send all the best sensors and trackers to that area" Sasuke demanded, "I'm going at once".

Not waiting for a reply, he handed the radio back.

"I' am going too" Kakashi raised from his seat, passing all the vital information and equipment to his assistant, "Shikamaru, you are in charge here now".

"Yes sir, I will keep everything under control".

Sasuke began to run eastwards from the heat field. He didn't have time to wait for anyone else. He was one of the fastest people alive and he wasn't going to delay a single second to work in tandem, not when his sensory prowess was so far in excess of everyone else's. Someone was keeping up with him though, he could feel the familiar presence.

"Can you keep up with me sensei? Not many can".

Kakashi was doing just that, not falling a step behind Sasuke as sprinted towards the rain. "I'm not old enough to slow down yet".

Since Sasuke returned it had felt for a long time that he and Kakashi were distant from one another. It was hard to forgive someone for trying to kill both of your students. Still, he realised at that moment that while the woes of the past cannot be undone, neither can the joys. Hatake Kakashi was still his sensei.

 **In the Cave**

What is love?

That is a big question, there is nobody who would argue that. The question itself would be debated thousands of times throughout history, having a unique meaning to each and every person who answered it; truly a question and answer that can define an identity.

In this situation, Naruto wasn't ready for such a question, he had never been a master of words. While he was often resolute about what it meant to be a Hokage, to be a shinobi there many philosophical questions he couldn't answer.

"What is love? That seems like a really big question" he said, resting his chin in his hand. His eyes skirted to the side of their sockets. "I'm not very good at answering big questions like that".

That wasn't how Hinata knew Naruto though. For the most important of life's questions, he may not have been able to beautifully express his feelings but he always knew them. Whether it was why to keep moving forward, why to never give up, what it means to be a shinobi or what a friend is, he always knew how he felt. She couldn't see this being any different.

"Please, I want to know what you have to say" she begged quietly.  
"Hmm… remember the time we went to that town for a picnic?".  
"Yeah, I remember it well".

Hinata smiled, she was being taken back to one of the happiest periods of her life.

"I remember watching you preparing a picnic. It was funny".  
"Yeah but life back then was pretty stressful for both of us. I was working hard to become a Jonin. You were struggling with Hyuuga business".  
"Yeah, it was a tough time".

Naruto was a hero of the village, when his closeness with Hinata became public it caused rumblings in the Hyuuga clan. A lot of people overreacted, treating the news as if it was the best thing that had ever happened to the clan. Others reacted badly, there would always be a few individuals in the village who had reservations about Naruto, especially given his affiliation with the nine-tails.

"Was the picnic good for you?".  
"It was amazing".

That is exactly what Naruto had thought too. That is exactly what his understanding of love was.

"When we were apart life was difficult and hard" he explained. "But when were together it was like the stress didn't exist; like were floating. You're the only person who can make me feel like that Hinata. You're the only person who can take me to that truly happy place".

"… yeah, I know what you mean" Hinata replied. "It's the same for me".

Naruto took Hinata's hand in his own, squeezing tightly. "Bad things can happen in life you know, my parent's death, Neji's…".

"But sometimes" he continued, "Sometimes an angle comes into your life. An angel who makes it so you can keep going no matter how much bad stuff happens. That's what you are like for me".

"That sounds really nice… I like that…".

Naruto leaned in close, brushing a solitary strand of hair from Hinata's forehead. "I love you, Hinata". Just as he begun to feel the heat of her breath and his neck began to crane he felt the loss of strength in her hand gripping his. Pulling back and looking into her eyes he realised that she had fainted once again.

Unfortunately, he knew wasn't a child's story book. No kiss from prince charming would wake the sleeping beauty.

With a sigh, he released Hinata's hand and returned his attention to the barrier. One day they may share a kiss once again, unfortunately, it seemed this wouldn't be that day.

 **The Dream World, Hinata's Room**

Hinata woke in the dream world, her vision blurry as she woke to the rising sun. The blur of the sun wasn't the only thing clouding her vision, vague remnants of the image she saw in the real world lingered. Naruto had something to her, she was certain of that. She had thought that he had been getting closer to her but that was all. She had lost consciousness.

Getting out of bed she walked over to the window, witnessing for the first time the beauty of her garden in the morning. Clearly Nikko was good at his job, the garden was littered with beautiful colours, with flowers positioned so that their petals could glow with the sun. She opened the window to take in the smell, expecting the smell of flowers, she was surprised to instead smell the toasting of bread. Breakfast was being prepared in the house.

Hinata got dressed into some casual attire forgetting that today was Friday and that she would normally have work on this day of the week. Heading downstairs she entered an open plan kitchen in which Nikko was preparing breakfast for her.

"Morning, need some breakfast" Nikko asked with a big smile.  
"That sounds good, thank you" Hinata replied.

Having breakfast prepared for her was a novelty that Hinata wasn't used to. In the real world her family had never done such a thing for her and Naruto would never have time. As the Uzumaki was being groomed for the Hokage position, he would typically be busy from dawn until dusk and would have to fight for every moment of free time.

Hinata looked out the window into the rear garden. The rear garden was not so well kept as the front garden but was a wider, flatter grassy space. Her son was running around in the garden, cartwheeling and practicing his gymnastic skills. She speculated that perhaps he was practicing to become a shinobi, like his mother.

"What does he do during the day" she asked, her eyes not moving as she watched him in the garden.  
"He goes to school, at least during the day" Nikko answered.  
"Do you think I could take the day off work and take him to school?".

Nikko smiled, turning to look at his wife. She was transfixed with their son, not even noticing his gaze. "I don't think they were expecting you at work but I will phone them just in case" he answered. He shook his head, to him, only Hinata would consider going into work in her condition. "After that, I could take you somewhere you enjoyed going in the past, we could make a day of it".

"That would be nice".

After eating her breakfast, Hinata called in her son from the rear garden and took him to school.

 **Outside the School**

Hinata's son immediately left his mother and ran into school to meet with his friends. He clearly had no trouble socialising as he began to play with the other children straight away. She found this to be a strange sensation, a sense of pride she had never felt before. She wondered if her parents ever felt this pride for her.

A hand tapped on Hinata's shoulder, starting her and causing her to turn around. It was Sai.

"We don't often see you on the school run, Hinata".  
"No, I thought I would take the day off".

Hinata noticed after a few moments that she was naturally integrating with this world. She subconsciously knew that Sai was the parent of another child here and reacted with no surprise at all. Something was very different though, a subtlety about Sai; his eyes. Sai's eyes were different to the real world.

' _That smile… those empty eyes… this is Sai without Naruto'_.

"Hinata" a nearby voice called as a woman ran over. Tenten. "I've not seen you here before. You're normally so busy as the leader of the Sensing and Tracking Unit".

"I… I always try to do my best" the Hyuuga clanswoman replied.

Tenten gave her a playful shove. "Stop being so modest, you 'do your best', you're probably the best shinobi in the village. It must be cool for the little guy to be taken to school by such an elite shinobi".

Hinata hadn't thought of it like that. She wasn't used to the idea that she was a big deal. She had always considered Naruto the elite shinobi and strived to be like him. Chasing Naruto was like chasing light though, only one man could ever keep up with him.

"Life must be good for him" Sai sighed, snapping Hinata from her thoughts, "He is so talented himself".

"He is?".

"Oh sorry, you don't remember". Sai's inflections were forced, he had heard Hinata was ill but he genuinely didn't realise that she had forgotten her son. "Well yes, your son has always been the most talented member of the class".

"He's very popular, very smart" Tenten insisted, "He will surely become a great shinobi one day".

"I guess he takes after his parents" Sai said, "You guys are a true model family".

"Thank you" Hinata said with a bow.

' _The way they are speaking makes me feel so… confident. Is this the happiness I've been missing my whole life?'_.

A thought lingered though. It had lingered in the back of her mind ever since she saw Sai's smile.

' _Sai's smile… Tenten's praise… they're both missing something… they're so… fake'_.

 **The Dream World, A Lake**

Hinata looked out over the lake, it was very picturesque. The lake glimmered with the golden reflection of the sun. The breeze wafted over its surface gently, leaving ripples where it caused slight disturbances. The water was as clear as glass, fish could be seen swimming close to the underside of the boat.

She couldn't recall seeing anything close to this in real life, in the other world, it was like something out of a book, or in a piece of art. Hinata had been all over the world. Even if she wasn't on the same level as Naruto, she was an elite shinobi. She had met many people, seen many things. She couldn't recall seeing anything like this though. It was like the accumulation of a million fantasies, the descriptions of beauty of a thousand people, they had all combined and manifested in one spot.

Looking down into the boat, the Hyuuga heiress glanced over the perfectly packed picnic that they had brought with them. This picnic is nothing like the one Naruto had prepared, it was beautifully wrapped, fantastically aromatic and she imagined, delightful to eat. Something about the picnic was wrong though, the appearance, the smell, the taste, she was certain that they were all afflicted by the same fault. It was so empty.

"We go on a boat trip like this quite often" Nikko explained, rhythmically stretching his arms forward and pulling them back once again. "We came to this lake once before and you really enjoyed it. And well… I know it's only a little rowing boat but…".

"No, no" Hinata said, "It's really nice". Whether this was the real world or not, she hated seeing people like Nikko talk themselves down because she knew that's just how she behaved in the other world.

She could just about make out the reflection of Nikko's red hair in the water. It was like the setting sun. Like it was signalling the end to something. _'If this were a dream, would I see my reflection? If this were a dream, would I be so… lucid?'_.

Nikko leaned backward, picking up a wooden box from behind himself. He stretched his body so that he could pull the box around between himself and Hinata. It wasn't a heavy box but it was fairly large. Hinata could tell from the polished wooden finish that it was well maintained.

"Now, I'm a bit rusty" Nikko explained as he lifted an instrument from the box, "But, I'll give this a go".

It was a violin. Nikko was going to play the violin.

Hinata smiled, she didn't know that Nikko could play music, she hadn't asked him. She continued to take in the scenery as her husband prepared for his piece. As she looked into the water, she pictured this scenario taking place in the other world, whether such a thing would be possible. Upon careful consideration she was sure that it couldn't, Naruto would almost never have enough time off to visit a lake. Most of all, the would be Hokage would never have enough time to learn an instrument.

Nikko's piece was wonderful, matching the pure serenity of the grassy plains with the calmness of the water into one performance. As he played on Hinata relaxed, this environment was enough to make anyone forget their troubles, forget their bad dreams, forget the weight of the world pressing on their shoulders.

As Nikko finished, Hinata clapped her hands sincerely. "That was really nice Nikko, it was lovely". She looked into his eyes as he cheerfully accepted the praise, _'I've always loved the violin'_.

"Thank you, you always did love that piece" Nikko returned.

Hinata sighed internally. How could he possibly know that? Had she been dreaming-up specific pieces of music? Had she heard that somewhere before, she certainly didn't recall it? _'Could this really be the real world?'_.

She took a moment to resolve herself, then asked her husband the same question she had asked the man in the other world. "Nikko… what do you think love is".

"I don't have to think about it" he answered, "I know what love is".

The Hyuuga clanswoman had been hoping that Naruto would answer her question that way. "Then what is it?".

"Love revolves around common interests and common hobbies" he explained.

Common interests and common hobbies. Hinata hadn't ever thought about love this way before. She looked at herself and Naruto's pasts about the times they had spent together and what they had done with one another. _'Naruto and I… we don't have common hobbies or interests'_.

"It's not some mystical force, it's a feeling you have for someone who understands you" the ex-shinobi said, "A relaxing feeling".

' _Naruto and I… do we truly understand one another… is it possible to understand Naruto…'_.

Uzumaki Naruto, the shinobi who grew up without any parents. The shinobi rejected by everyone who countered this rejection by accepting everyone. Someone who was considered dirt who would never go anywhere, who never gave up and reached the very top of the world. If that world was a story, it would be the story of Uzumaki Naruto, the hero of the hidden leaf. How then, could anybody possibly hope to understand him, such an enigma, such an existence.

"For example, we both enjoy pressing flowers, we both like to gout and eat zenzai together" Nikko said. Those were indeed things Hinata liked.

"Because of my lack of talent, we both understand the way the Hyuuga clan can shun people without talent".

The Hyuuga clan had initially been cold towards Hinata, according to Nikko. That is because she didn't appear to have any talent in her youth. It is only through her hard work and persistence that she was able to earn the respect of the clan and of the village. Nikko went through a similar situation. After asking Hinata to marry him, he was shunned and spurned by the Hyuuga clan who did not consider him good enough to marry Hinata. They both understood that cruel treatment, that elitist attitude.

"We both understand that hard work can help you pull through anything, we both believe in… in never giving up".

Hinata knew that was her ninja way but wasn't so sure of its origins anymore. Had she learnt that listen from Naruto? Had she originated the lesson? Had Nikko picked it up from her?

' _Nikko understands how I felt back then… more so than Naruto…'_.

To Hinata's surprise, Nikko had closed the distance between them. Without her even noticing, he had pressed his lips gently against hers and kissed her. It didn't feel right in her mind, like something was missing, just like that picnic. She did however, feel something she hadn't in a long time. She felt safety, she felt comfort. She didn't pull away, she hesitantly kissed Nikko in this moment of relaxation, considering that he may be right.

' _Perhaps Nikko is right...'_.  
 _'Perhaps love revolves around comprehension and commonalities'_.  
 _'And I do feel truly… relaxed'_.

It is at this moment that Hinata's condition grew worse.  
It is at this moment that Hinata fainted.

 **The Cave**

Hinata woke up in the cave with a slight gasp. She was confused, just a moment ago she had been with Nikko, she had been completely comfortable and relaxed. Now everyone she was feeling was hard, she felt such discomfort, such danger. It was like she had stumbled into a nightmare. A nightmare with only one guiding light.

She looked around at that guiding light. "Oh… hello Naruto". She looked down at the ground next to her head as she began to push herself upright. It was as if she was sad.

"Hinata, you seem a bit upset, are you alright?" Naruto asked, helping his girlfriend into a sitting position.  
"It was just… a bit of an awkward moment to… you know… switch worlds" she answered, still sounding dejected.  
"It doesn't matter when you switch out of that world, it isn't real Hinata".  
"It all feels so real Naruto, it all feels so perfect".

The blonde shinobi rested his head in the palm of his hand. How could this world compare to a dream world? The incredible heat outside of his barrier was causing this place to appear worse and worse. If Hinata's vision wasn't clear, he could understand why she might mistake this cave for hell. Hell is certainly how it had started to appear for him.

"This world can be pretty great too, you know" Naruto explained.  
"The people there all think I'm something amazing, like they do for you here" she replied.  
"People in this world think you're amazing too Hinata".  
"And I worked hard to get accepted, just like you".

Naruto's head was hurting, he had never imagined this would work against him. Hinata had adopted her ninja way, her philosophy of never giving up from him. From when she did that, it would be inevitable that she would compare herself to him. Naruto worked incredibly hard though, using clones he would work thousands of times harder than was possible for everyone else. He would always take that one extra step, put in that one extra minute of work to pursue his dream and look after his friends. Geniuses like Sasuke could reach the same level with less work but Hinata wasn't comparing herself to him, she was comparing herself to Naruto. In such comparison, it would always appear that she was slacking off.

"Hinata, you worked hard and got accepted in the real world too" Naruto said under his breath.

"The music, the garden, the school" Hinata replayed the day's events in her head. "My subordinates too… they all seem so… ideal".

"It's not perfect Hinata, it only appears that way to distract you".

Her perfect son. Neji's being alive. Her high position. The empty picnic. Tenten's praise. Sai's smile. That passionless kiss. To Hinata it felt like Naruto was bringing this all back to her. It felt like he was causing it.

"You have to hold on to the real world" Naruto insisted, taking Hinata's hand tightly in his own, "You have to hold on to the people who love you".

"The people who love me" she muttered, "Naruto, what are my hobbies and interests?".  
"Hinata I…".  
"Do you know?" she pressed.  
"It wouldn't matter what I say. The dream world is tricking you to think like this…".

Hinata was horrified with how the truth appeared to her. Naruto had always seemed perfect but in this moment that illusion was shattered for her.

"You don't know" she said, "Naruto… you don't know, do you?".  
"Do trivia questions matter" he asked, "Surely what matters is that I love you, right?".  
"Love is confusing to understand, I'm not sure what it means anymore".

Naruto had never known Hinata speak like this to him before. Every word shook him to his very core. He had assumed that the two of them would never have these problems, that their feelings for one another were innocent and pure.

"You know I love you, don't you?".

As he is met with silence, Naruto cranes his neck and leans towards Hinata to give her a gentle kiss.

Like before though, she moves away. This time voluntarily creating a gap between them. "I guess that depends what love is, Naruto".

With those words, Hinata left a stake in Naruto's heart before departing to the other world.

Naruto didn't know what to do with himself. He flailed his arms around before his face, unsure where to put them. His frustration manifested itself; with a scream he lifted his fist into the air and slammed it down into the stony floor below. As blood flowed from his knuckles his vision grew blurry and his breath deep.

"Violin music…" he breathed out.  
"Violin music…".  
"Green grassy gardens…".  
"Pressing flowers…".  
"Dancing…".  
"Ramen…".  
"Zenzai…".  
"Boats…".

"I don't know how to get through to you" Naruto whelped, a tear running down his cheek.

"But I really, really do love you, Hinata".

 **East of the Hidden Rain, The Rogue Shinobi Hideout**

The rogues were well hidden, with the entrance to their hideout embedded at the back of a deep crevasse. The mountain was plain and natural, there would be no way to tell that someone was hiding at the back of it. Not unless you had supernatural senses of sight or smell, something that the search party had in droves.

Groups of rogue shinobi gathered near the entrance. They were all elite killers, prepared to tangle with the deadliest of shinobi in a life or death battle, or so they believed. They were willing to tangle with almost anybody, even some of the big names in the shinobi world. They would have battled the Ino-Shika-Cho, or even a few of the mist's revered swordsmen. They weren't prepared for what came through the entrance though.

Step by step, they heard the approaching feet.

In through the entrance came the man known throughout the lands as the 6th Hokage.

In through the entrance, came Hatake Kakashi.

The rogues all took a few steps back. The rogues originating from the Hidden Leaf knew of the Hokage's abilities, they had told the others of his prowess. This man was a General in the 4th great shinobi war, one of the four present in the final battle. This was the man who lead the most legendary team in the lands.

It would get worse still though.

Slipping in through the crevasse straight after Kakashi was someone even worse.

It was Uchiha Sasuke.

The rogues didn't step backwards this time, with their kunai's drawn they all stood, paralysed with fear. As Sasuke coughed, they all tightened their grip on their weapons, foolishly preparing themselves for a fight.

"Out of the two of us, the Hokage is the one you should be less afraid of" Sasuke explained, not bothering to draw his own weapon, "Do you really want to fight here?".

In an instant, all the rogues dropped their weapons.

One man at the back room stood up, turning to face the two intruders. He had known they would come, he had known there would be nothing that could be done to stop them, not these two.

Turning around, the man revealed his piercing black eyes, one half covered by his wavy jet-black hair. Peering out from behind that wavy hair was a head protector, the village identifier barely discernible through the black locks. The man was dressed differently from the others, not in the protective attire of his native village but in a blue shirt. His blue shirt's colour was folded neatly and the top two buttons were undone, revealing just the top of the red vest he wore underneath.

The confidence and aura this man exuded made his identity clear. This was Tetsuya.

"Most impressive, Uchiha Sasuke…".

Without giving Tetsuya time to finish his sentence, Sasuke had already arrived at his side, sword pressed to his throat. Where his best friend's safety was concerned, the Uchiha proved unwilling to play games.

"I suggest you be silent and consider some last words" Sasuke said.

"Killing me won't change anything, is that what the hidden leaf is all about" Tetsuya cackled at Sasuke's predicament, he enjoyed playing games with his adversary. "After all, the rain has experienced the leaf's kindness before".

"Sasuke, put it down" Kakashi demanded, "That is my decision as the Hokage".

Sasuke obeyed his teacher, lowering his sword. Tetsuya and a few others seemed dejected. It was like they wanted Sasuke to stab the leader, if only to prove them right. The leaf had a dark and bloody history, though they didn't want to remember it. Things were to be different under Kakashi's reign, Naruto and Sasuke were determined to make that so.

"Tell us Seta Tetsuya, how to do we stop the genjutsu". Kakashi approached Tetsuya, doing his best to maintain an intimidating voice and presence.

"The genjutsu cannot be stopped unless Hinata escapes or the caster is killed" Tetsuya explained, his shoulders sagging as he sighed. His complacency was unbecoming of his situation, he was in mortal danger with these two present but was acting as a king would on his own throne.

"Stop telling us what we already know" Sasuke barked, "Who is the caster?".

Tetsuya shook his head, "It wouldn't matter even if you did know. You're not killers, are you?".

"Try me".

"We have a very unique skillset here". The leader of the rogue shinobi was being very deliberate in his time-wasting. He revelled in his long-winded explanation. "We can do things nobody else can. We have to, if we are going to kill Uzumaki Naruto".

"Hurry up". Sasuke stepped right up to Tetsuya's face, reminding him of the potential damage that could be done.

"A middle man is being forced to cast the genjutsu" Tetsuya explained. "It's not one of us. So, you would have to kill this innocent middle-man to break the genjutsu".

"Who is the middle man?" Kakashi asked.

Tetsuya took a step backwards, calmly smiling as he looked around the intimidating Uchiha. He seemed to be ignorant of the power these two men had. He seemed like he was dancing in front of a pair of rebels. This was his domain, he was now the status quo and the Leaf shinobi were the ones battling for a revolution.

"I suppose you could call her a middle-woman" Tetsuya said as he gestured to his right.

It was a blanket, clearly from the way it was hovering it was propped up on a box or a cage.

The Hokage approached the blanket and tore it away, revealing what was hidden behind it. To their horror it was a cage. To their horror it was an innocent middle-woman.

Hyuuga Hanabi.

Kakashi sighed, "Sasuke, we can't kill Hanabi, no matter what happens".

Seta Tetsuya was laughing loudly while all this happened. "See, even Uchiha Sasuke is powerless to do anything. All he can do is stand by and wait for his friend to die".

An instant later, everyone in the hideout felt like the world was going to fall apart.

For the first time since the fight with Naruto, Sasuke was bringing his full power out. Chakra radiated from his body like light from the sun. The cave rocked with the enormity of his power and even Kakashi stepped back away from his student. With every step the entire world seemed to move, Kakashi was certain that Sakura and Shikamaru would be able to feel it where they were.

As Sasuke stepped towards him, Tetsuya laughed madly, crawling backwards out of instinct rather than choice. "So, this is the power… this is the power of order… this is what we were up against".

"You are all coming back to the heat field with us" Sasuke shouted, his voice so loud that nobody dared question it. "Kakashi, you take the leader, I will take the others".

The others all wondered how the Uchiha intended to capture them all by himself. They were soon enlightened. A blue concentration of chakra formed around Sasuke, morphing into a full-sized Susano and bursting through the rocks that entombed them. If anyone were nearby they would likely have been hit by the outward flying rocks.

Sasuke used clones and smaller Susanos to gather each of the rogues into the hands of his giant construct before flying back in the direction of the heat field.

Kakashi bound Tetsuya's hands with some rope he found before pushing him forwards, starting him running after Sasuke.

"I think you're underestimating the situation" Kakashi said, "What Sasuke showed you wasn't the power you should truly fear…".

"You should fear the bond between Naruto and Hinata… that is our true power here".


	6. Died

**LUCID – DIED**

 **The Dream World, Hinata's House**

Hinata woke blissfully. This was the first time she had felt truly rested upon waking. The faintly illuminated room enough for her to work out it was the morning. It was the weekend, the Saturday. There is not long left for Naruto but Hinata is unaware of such constraints on time, she is just happy to be able to spend another day in paradise.

She heads downstairs, eager to find what will await her this time. Was this a dream, perhaps it was given the way everything happened. She was enjoying that dream though, the deeper she went into it the more perfect it became. As she went into the kitchen she was delighted to see that her son was still looking healthy. It seemed like there really were going to be no after-effects of the poison.

"Good morning Nikko" she called as she moved over to a seat, "Good morning son".

"Morning mommy!".  
"Good morning, dear".

Nikko was reading the news and their child was playing with some toys. It was a perfectly innocent and ordinary weekend, with everyone relaxing and spending time together just like they should be. That would never happen with Naruto, he would always be too busy looking after the village. Hinata didn't resent Naruto for that, she never could, she admired his passion and determination as a shinobi. However, she couldn't help wondering if any children they had would resent Naruto for this eternal absence. Naruto had to grow up without parents, it wouldn't be the same if he had children but Hinata wouldn't want that for anybody. It's hard to show someone they are loved from a distance.

"So, it's the weekend, do we have any plans" Hinata asked.  
"I want to go the park" their son shouted as he lifted his hand into the air.

Hinata didn't know what to do in this situation. It hurt her to be so distant with her own son, to not know what he was thinking or whether this was OK. She hoped that one day she may know these things well, hoping that one day she would be a proper mother.

That didn't help her in the meantime, instead she looked to the boy's father, Nikko. Nikko looked accepting of the situation. He was happy that Hinata was taking an interest, only a couple of days ago she was completely rejecting that this child was her son. He looked back at his wife and nodded. The suggestion was perfectly acceptable, it may help Hinata to remember the times they had spent together in the past. More than anything else, he wanted them to be happy as often as they could be, for as long as they could be.

"Alright" Hinata said, rubbing her son atop his head, "Let's go to the park".

They did just that. They each changed into appropriate clothes and headed out to the park.

 **The Dream World, The Park**

Hinata had wondered how it would be, taking her son to the park. She wasn't disappointed by the experience. Seeing him smile as he played was wonderful. She decided that happiness was best when it was shared with others, when you could see the smile of another and not help but smile yourself.

She had pushed him on the swings, seeing how high he could get. She told him about how he would be a shinobi one day. She told him that if he worked hard and never gave up, that he would be able to climb as high as he wants in the world.

She watched him run around the park like it was an obstacle course, his arms held out to his side, trying to run swiftly like a shinobi. She couldn't help but ponder how amazing he may be one day, would he be this world's version of Naruto, would he scale the mountain and become Hokage.

Lastly, she and Nikko watched as he met the other children in the part and began to play with them. He seemed to be popular, almost like the leader of the group who adopted him.

"This is nice, isn't it" Hinata smiled.  
"Yeah, it's really nice" Nikko put his arm around his wife's shoulder, pulling her close.  
"Almost dream-like".  
"Don't start that again".  
"I'm joking… I just really like it".

Hinata had been joking initially but her own joke brought her back to reality. The other world seemed terrible now that she looked at it. Neji was dead. She hadn't become the same legendary shinobi she had in this world. She hadn't the same confidence she had here. Indeed, there was only one redeeming feature of that world compared to this one, Uzumaki Naruto. Naruto had a way of making the entire world seem more complete, more real. It was like she had earnt everything in that world, like all the cracks had been filled in, rather than papered over.

"Why don't we dance?". Nikko had noticed Hinata had become distant since her last comment. He didn't want her to lose the happiness she had finally grasped. "We can dance just like we did on our wedding day".

"I don't remember how we danced on our wedding day" Hinata said, reminding Nikko of Sakura's diagnosis.

Nikko grabbed Hinata's hands, dragging her away from the fence the two of them were leaning against. "Come on, I will show you, it will be fine".

That is what Nikko did. They danced just like they had on their wedding day. A dance with the waves is how it had been described at the time and that is how it felt to Hinata. Fluid like the ocean, rising to a high pace and then slowing down instantly before slowly building its way back up. It had been a perfect dance, a flawless dance. Clearly the couple had maintained the agility they had picked up when training as shinobi, they hadn't put a foot wrong.

As the dance ended, Hinata couldn't help but smile. It all felt so seamless, so effortless. She had wondered if this world had always felt like that. As the dance ended the couple found themselves face-to-face. As if by instinct, incited by their close proximity and the feeling of their bodies on one another, they shared a quick kiss. It hadn't been anything like last time, it had been natural, perhaps even mutual.

Hinata lost herself for a moment. It truly felt like this was real and that everything else was a dream. She felt like the two of them were completely alone until she was snatched back to reality by a child's shout.

"Mommy" her son shouted as he ran over to the two of them.

"Oh" Hinata was shocked, she had forgotten what was happening. "It's time to go home, isn't it?".

"Yes, I think so" Nikko said, a smug smile on his face.

Hinata hit him playfully on the arm, she knew that he was teasing her with that smile. Previously when he had approached her that morning on the grass, she had no familiarity towards him at all. Now they were almost as close as they had been before, taking romantic trips on boats, taking their child to the park as a family.

"Let's go then" Hinata said, taking he son's hand while Nikko took the other. Together they walked back towards their house.

' _That kiss was more natural than last time but… something still didn't feel right'_.

The Hyuuga felt guilty but it wasn't Nikko that was popping into her head. It was the man from the other world, the man she was increasingly sure wasn't real. It felt like everything in this world was incomplete and that it was his fault.

' _But it was so perfect, how could I be thinking about someone other than him'_.

It was the dance. Hinata was finally understanding that. It was the dance.

' _I think I understand now… that's why I enjoyed dancing'.  
'I loved the feeling of falling and Naruto catching me'.  
'How could I ever be caught… if I never fell in the first place'_.

 **The Cave**

The cave wasn't reminiscent of how it was when Naruto and Hinata first found it. It was completely unrecognisable. Those outside the heat field looked in with astonishment. Some of them had seen Naruto's power in person, they believed he could do anything. The others were different, some of those present had never seen Naruto in action before. The heat field presented an invisible barrier between green forest and barren wasteland. It was starting to look so desolate it could be mistaken for the land of wind. In such incredible persistent heat, one couldn't survive without a barrier. Keeping up a powerful barrier for such a long time inside would be nearly impossible, they struggled to comprehend how anybody could do it. Only Naruto or Sasuke could.

Naruto looked through his barrier at the degrading landscape, the blood from his hand stopped flowing. He hadn't moved, the red bodily fluid still stained the floor beneath him. He leaned over to his side, struggling to reach for the radio with one hand. He had some energy to spare but it wasn't much, he was exhausted. He was doing his absolute best to conserve his stamina.

"Sakura…" he breathed out, holding the button on the radio. "Sakura, are you there?".

There was a brief delay while the medical shinobi moved to answer the radio. She wasn't long though, she had been waiting on Naruto. She had been unwilling to sleep since getting here, drifting off for minutes at a time when the conditions overcame her.

"Yeah" she finally answered, "I'm here Naruto".

"She is slipping away Sakura, she is slipping away from us" Naruto said.

Sakura could tell the pain Naruto was in as he said these words. The shinobi was warned that he would need to be Hinata's anchor to reality, that he was ill-equipped for such a job. To be proven right was agonising. He was the Hero of the Hidden Leaf, so mighty and yet so incapable of doing anything.

"She's beginning to favour the other world. Every time she comes back she thinks it's better than the last. Slowly, she is beginning to forget what is so great about our world".

"Naruto, you need to change that" Sakura explained. "Only you can change it, you are in love with her Naruto, remind her".

The Uzumaki clansmen looked over his shoulder. She looked beautiful even in this desolate setting. Hinata lit up even the darkest of situations for him. The light was wavering though, threatening to go out when life is darkest. Hinata was perhaps the last light that Naruto would ever have in his life, he couldn't bare sitting by and watching her flicker.

"She's confused about what love is Sakura, about which world she feels it in" Naruto explained.  
"I see".  
"I'm not a genius… how can I explain something like that. Sakura, what is it you feel for Sasuke?".  
"Naruto…".  
"Please, can you explain it to me, can you make me understand?".

Sakura compared herself and Sasuke to Naruto and Hinata. Truthfully, their story was a lot less pleasant. Naruto and Hinata were both heroes of the village who never gave up, who endured pain together. Sasuke was a traitor, a traitor who she would have left the village to follow. They had both made mistakes that were only rectified by Naruto's attitude, by his determination. She wondered if she was qualified to explain anything about love to Naruto and Hinata. Then she realised that wasn't her problem, her problem was that she couldn't explain love because she didn't understand it herself.

"No" she admitted. She held her head low as she spoke into the radio. "I can't explain it, love isn't so easy to understand. Otherwise everyone would find love".

"Sakura…".

"I know there is a special connection between Sasuke and I, just like with you and Hinata. I can't explain it, Naruto, I'm sorry. The feeling is just so… illogical".

The medical shinobi was feeling useless. She felt like she had always dragged Naruto and Sasuke down. She couldn't match either of them for power or resolve. Time and time again she had made mistakes that would leave Naruto cleaning up after her. During the war she thought she had drawn level with them, that she had stopped holding them back. Now once again she couldn't help but feel like she was doing nothing for Naruto.

"What am I supposed to do?" Naruto asked, "How can I answer her unanswerable question?".

Sakura tightened her grip on the radio. She refused to sit by and do nothing.

"I don't know but listen to me Uzumaki. You are a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf on active duty. Now you have to make her understand, do you hear me?" Sakura put on her most authoritative voice as she spoke. "Because if you can't do this, how are you going to become the Hokage".

"I'm not concerned with being the Hokage now Sakura. I just want Hinata to wake up".

"If you care about her more than your dream then tell her why! Find a way to explain yourself, make her fall in love with you again. You have to… you have to…".

 **The Dream World, Late Evening, Hinata's House**

The sun was setting on a wonderful day in the dream world. Hinata had gone the whole day without fainting so far. She supposed that meant that she may be getting better, her illness may be fading. She didn't know if that was for the best or for the worst but she was delighted at the smiling happy faces of her husband and her son. If this was the real world then it was getting better all the time and when her condition was alleviated, she would truly have nothing to worry about. The day was wonderful, until a knock came on the door.

Hinata saw that Nikko was playing with their son so she stood and went to answer it. Knowing this world, it was probably going to be something pleasant on the other side. It wasn't.

On the other side of the door, was the hooded woman.

"You…" Hinata muttered.

She instantly began to compute possibilities in her head. She didn't want anything violent to happen here, especially with Nikko and her son nearby. It didn't seem like this woman was going to hurt anybody and it would preferable to make her leave with no incidents. Hinata was surprised at how quickly she thought this all through, she was clearly more experienced, more thoroughly trained in this world. She wondered if this was how Naruto and Sasuke must have felt.

"I have come back to see you again, Hinata" the hooded woman explained, raising her finger to point to the open room behind the Hyuuga. "Are you enjoying the world that I constructed for you… the world of your dreams".

In a flash, Hinata remembered the exact situation. Yes, this world was the dream world, the fantasy. The other place, the one where the water was disappearing and the landscape seemed like it would set on fire, that was the real world.

The hooded woman smiled at Hinata's confusion. She could tell that this was all just starting to make sense for Hinata. This dream world, this technique had confused the Hyuuga in just the way she had hoped it would. This dream world to target the loved ones of the powerful was working even on Uzumaki Naruto, the most powerful shinobi in the lands.

The hooded woman reached her hand up, tauntingly moving it towards Hinata's face. She had underestimated Hinata's resolve though, her shyness should never be mistaken for a lack of willpower. Hinata slapped her hand away, she didn't want to play games and she wouldn't be intimidated, not here.

"Follow me" the hooded woman demanded as she turned and walked into the dark.

"… Nikko, I'm just heading out with a friend for a minute".  
"OK".

Nikko didn't ask any questions. If Hinata remembered someone well enough to call them a friend, that was enough for him.

 **The Dream World, An Isolated Street**

They had separated from Nikko and the child, that was enough to calm Hinata. She wasn't so concerned for her own safety as she was for theirs. Now she could look this woman head-on and confront her if need be.

The hooded woman lifted her hands up, wrapping her long bony fingers around the edges of her hood and pulling it down behind her head. She revealed a long pale blue mane, a shinobi's head protector and an unblemished face. Hinata estimated this girl was likely even younger than she was, a relative novice in the shinobi world. What stood out most about this woman was her eyes, one deep blue, one blood red. It was either a unique kekkai genkai or the result of an experiment.

"So, do you recognise me?" the girl asked with a smile.  
"The rogue shinobi list" Hinata murmured.  
"Oh, you're very good".  
"Your name is Itoh Rii, a Hidden Cloud shinobi, a scientist".

Rii was just that, a rogue shinobi formerly of the Hidden Cloud. A scientist who valued power above all else. She wanted to dance in the uncontrollable chaos of the world with science as her only ally. She wanted to compare her knowledge against others and prove that knowledge is power, that her talent for science can surpass even the mightiest of shinobi's powers.

Rii was delighted that Hinata remembered her in such depth. "You're spot on. I'm a scientist and you are part of my finest work".

"What do you want?" Hinata asked.

"I want to know what you think of this world which I have created for you". Despite Hinata's confusion over the world's Rii was holding nothing back. The scientist made no effort to hide which world was fantasy and which was reality.

"It's perfect" Hinata sighed, looking around. "It's a world of my own fantasies, how could I not love it? But it feels like something isn't there, like the cornerstone of the world is missing".

Hinata didn't want to give Rii the satisfaction of a compliment but that is what she had done. Rii reacted ecstatically, her mind exploding at what she was being told. This technique was so close to perfection, it almost made full use of Hinata's subconscious. The technique still had one weakness though, one final imperfection that irritated Rii. For some reason she couldn't understand, she couldn't duplicate Naruto in this world. She could mimic all of Hinata's desires but not Naruto.

"Tomorrow will be the fateful day" Rii explained, "Tomorrow you will have to make the choice".

"Choice… what choice?".

"You have to choose which world you want to stay in and which will be cut off forever".

Tomorrow, the day Rii's plan would come to a climax, the deadline that Tetsuya had set for Naruto. It had all been as perfect as she had hoped. In the final seconds of Hinata's life, Naruto would realise that she hadn't chosen him and they would die together. How poetic.

"No" Hinata shook her head, she couldn't accept this. "That's like being asked to kill Naruto".

"You could kill your family here, or is your mind already made up" Rii smiled.

Hinata was stunned by the question but knew that Rii was right. Hinata had subconsciously admitted that she was favouring the dream world over reality. If that was the decision she made it would mean never seeing Naruto again, it would mean never seeing the other world again.

"Hyuuga Hinata, you will need to decide which world you really love, whom you really love" Rii gloated, enjoying every second of her explanation, "But perhaps the reason you're struggling is that question in your head, what is love?".

She was right, Hinata knew this to be the case. She still hadn't come to an answer on that most important of questions. What was she striving for, how would she know which world to choose, what is love?

"… I don't know what love is but I feel more comfortable in this world" Hinata explained, "And my son, I can't picture separating from him now. He's my child. He's my child".

Hinata turned her back and walked away from Rii. Valuing every second she could spend in both worlds, no matter which she ended up choosing.

Rii continued to grin excitedly, like a child about to win a game.

"Tomorrow is the big day Hyuuga Hinata".  
"The day where you choose your truth, once and for all".

 **The Dream World, Hinata's House**

Hinata returned with moist eyes. She had been crying but didn't want to show that. Calming herself down, she entered through the same door she had exited. She had hoped for a moment of reprieve, a moment to collect her thoughts but it wasn't to be. The second she entered she came face to face with Nikko.

"Who was that?" her husband asked.  
"Oh, just a shinobi from another village I worked with once" she answered, failing to fool him.  
"Are you OK, you look upset?".  
"It's fine… I'm fine, thank you, Nikko".

Nikko could tell that she was lying, he had seen Hinata get upset enough times to know when it was happening. She may be trying to hide the fact but she was most definitely distressed.

Hinata looked straight back at Nikko. He hadn't hesitated, he hadn't wavered, the moment he thought she was upset he pointed it out, he asked if he could do anything. She knew that she was lucky, no matter which world she chose that would be the case. Even if the world was going to end and the sky was going to collapse, whether it was Naruto or Nikko, they would come running when she needed them.

"Can I put him to bed again" Hinata asked.  
"Of course, go ahead".

Hinata put her son to bed, knowing this may be the final time she would be doing this. The thought tore at her soul, she couldn't bear it. Separating from this brilliant young boy, she didn't know what love but she was certain that she must love this child. He appeared so innocent, so perfect, so ideal. If that was her dream speaking then so be it, she dreamt about it because she wanted it to be so.

"How about a story about your uncle Neji" Hinata suggested.  
"Can I have a story about dad?" her son yawned.

Hinata felt awkward, she didn't know much about Nikko even now. She knew what happened at their wedding, about their difficulties with the Hyuuga clan and about how they raised their child. She decided that she would have to scrape by with what little she did know.

"OK, a story about your dad".  
"Your dad has always been an uh… a very handsome man with a good heart".  
"He has always stuck by his friends and his family".

Hinata's thought process had become distorted by her own sadness, losing track of the story she meant to tell and instead reciting what she had noticed about her husband.

"No matter how bad things have gotten he's always been very dependable".  
"He always puts his family first, even when considering his job and his dream".  
"He has always cared about those who need it and he… he…".

She finally realised what she had been doing, she shook her head and apologised. "Oh god, I'm sorry, this isn't much of a story, is it?".

She looked at her son though, her was already asleep. With a reluctant smile, she kissed the child on his forehead and wondered if that would be the last story she ever told him.

Exiting the room, Hinata immediately came face-to-face with Nikko who was waiting outside.

"Did you hear all of that?" she blushed.  
He nodded.  
"Yes, thank you. Those things you said were very kind".  
"It wasn't much of a story".  
"It was better than any story I've ever heard" Nikko said with an exaggerated smile.

Hinata laughed, he had reacted so nicely. His reaction could have made her feel embarrassed or awkward but he hadn't. Instead he had made her feel as if he appreciated every single thing she said, he had made her glad that she had said what she had. It was a bitter laugh though, she knew that it may not last. The laugh dragged, slowly changing from a happy chuckle to a tearful wail. She allowed herself to cry, she wouldn't do that in front of many people, Nikko was now one of the few.

"What's wrong" Nikko asked as he hugged Hinata.  
"I… I've been given an ultimatum" she answered.  
"An ultimatum?".  
"I have to choose between this world and the real world".  
Nikko was slightly grated but he didn't voice it, he understood her conflict.  
"So, you still don't believe this world is real?".

It was more than that, Hinata knew that this world wasn't real. She had spoken with its creator, Itoh Rii. She knew that this was created from her dreams and it made all the sense in the world. A gentleman like Nikko, the wonderful son they shared, their dream wedding, her achievements as a shinobi, it was all a bit too fantastic.

"I don't know" she answered diplomatically. "When I look at this world, I want it to be real sometimes and I…".

"Hinata, you don't owe me anything, you should do what's best for yourself" Nikko said, interrupting his wife. "But our son is different, you do owe him something, as his mother at least. Please, if you don't consider anything else, consider him".

She nodded, how could she refute that request. The child was the best part of this world.

"I think I love him" she said through her tears, "At the very least, I think I love him".

Nikko separated from Hinata and ran his hand down her arm comfortingly. "OK, that's good… I'm going to bed, I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?".

"Yeah".

With that in mind, Hinata went to her room once again, with more on her mind than ever before.

 **Outside the Heat Field**

Coming over the horizon was an enormous blue warrior formed from chakra. It was a Susano, one that only Sasuke could have formed. As the Susano came into view, Kakashi arrived through the trees. He had with a shinobi wearing informal attire. His collared blue shirt made it seem like he had been snatched straight from a business meeting. It was the cheerful look on his face, the way his eyes gleamed that explained who he was.

He was the rogue's leader.

Sasuke descended in his Susano, carelessly dropping the rogue shinobi that he had brought along with him. There were no broken bones but there would certainly be some bruises and swelling. The Hokage would have reprimanded his student if the circumstances had been different but his actions were certainly understandable. The victim of this most heinous attack was his best friend.

"Have there been any updates on the situation" Sasuke asked as Kakashi ordered the present shinobi to bind the arms of the rogues.

"Nothing tangible" Shikamaru answered. Not even he, with all his genius had thought of a solution to the problem.  
"Naruto says that Hinata is slipping further into their world" Sakura said.  
"Are these all of the rogue shinobi?".  
"So we can kill the genjutsu caster if we really have to?".

Shikamaru understood the reluctance many had to kill the genjutsu caster. The general opinion of the present shinobi was split. Many believed that everything possible should be done to save Naruto and Hinata who were heroes of the Hidden Leaf. Others understood what he and Sakura had come to understand, that killing your misguided enemy can lead to an unending cycle of violence that only someone truly special can break. If there were someone to break that cycle though, it would be Uzumaki Naruto, as it had been in the past.

"It's regrettable" Shikamaru began, "But they made this choice, if necessary we should kill the caster".

"We can't kill the caster Shikamaru" Sasuke interrupted him, looking over his shoulder at the one person he had placed down carefully. "A third-party is being forced to cast the genjutsu by proxy".

The various leaf shinobi were stunned. They had never heard of a genjutsu being cast by proxy, never mind a forced proxy. It would take an enormous amount of skill, practice and talent to do such a thing, possibly even a combination of rare kekkai genkai.

"Who is the third party?" Sakura asked as she followed Sasuke's gaze.

It was someone all too familiar. It was Hyuuga Hanabi.

Sakura was stunned, they were forcing Hanabi to cast the genjutsu. To save Hinata would require killing her own sister. The elder sister would never wish for that, nor would Naruto, the rogues must have known that when they made their plan.

"That is brutal. How can you people live with yourselves, doing that kind of thing" Sakura shouted as she pointed at the rogues. She fully understood why Sasuke was so hard on them now.

One of the shinobi at the back stood up, laughing as she removed the hood attached to her Hidden Cloud shinobi uniform. Underneath her distinguishing feature was revealed, two unmatched eyes, one red and one blue. This was indeed the kekkai genkai that Sakura had suspected to be at play. A mixture of several clan's genes, a science experiment with human victims that should never have been allowed.

It was of course, Itoh Rii, the woman from Hinata's dream.

"I'm sorry Tetsuya but I just have to take credit for this" she said.

Tetsuya didn't stop smiling, he had no intention of stealing her credit, this was her masterpiece. "Go ahead Rii, this is your moment".

"I am going to be the one who brings down the greatest agent of this boring world" Rii proclaimed, a wide toothy smile adorning her face, "I am the one who will defeat Uzumaki Naruto, where Uchiha Obito, Uchiha Madara and even Uchiha Sasuke have failed".

"Release the jutsu now" Sasuke ordered as he turned and began to walk towards Rii. His rinnegan started to manifest, "Or you will find out how painful a true genjutsu can be".

Rii would have been intimidated by Sasuke but that wouldn't help her. All she could do now was wait calmly on her ride to glory.

"I can't undo it now. I couldn't even if I wanted to" she explained, "You either have to kill Hanabi or trust Hinata to make the right decision".

"Sasuke, if the heat rises any further then not even Naruto can last much longer" Sakura explained.

"If my estimations are correct, Maro may not be stable" Shikamaru added, "This slow steady rise in temperature may change. It may start rising explosively. If that is the case this has all been timed perfectly".

"It's tomorrow, isn't it" Kakashi asked knowingly. "The temperature will start rising explosively tomorrow, so that not even Naruto can survive".

A technique this would normally be useless, a gradual build-up in heat before an explosion that could kill anybody. It is essentially a very slow equivalent of the self-destruct technique Deidara used against Sasuke. However, unlike that this version took a very long time before the explosion was ready, in that time anybody could run away. Anybody except Uzumaki Naruto, waiting for Hinata to be cured from a terrible illness. An illness which meant she couldn't be moved.

"Seconds after my genjutsu will end, seconds after Hinata's decision" Rii explained.

"Naruto can escape within seconds if he needs to" Sasuke said.

"But will he? Will he really leave Hinata?" Shikamaru asked.

Kakashi knew the answer. "Of course, he won't". It made him admire Naruto but it wasn't helpful in this situation, if Hinata made the wrong decision both she and Naruto would be lost. It would be because of his own stubbornness and because he loved her.

"Nothing. There is nothing you can do" Rii laughed, "You can only watch as Uzumaki Naruto's life draws to a close and in those last few seconds he will realise the truth. He has failed".

All the shinobi of the leaf could do now is hold on and pray for a miracle. A miracle of Hinata and Naruto's creation.

' _Naruto, please, I don't know how you are going to do it but think of something'_ Sakura begged internally, _'Anything. Don't die in there with Hinata. You need to survive, both of you… please…'_.

Tomorrow would be the fateful day.  
It was that next day that Naruto and Hinata's destiny was decided upon.


	7. Buried?

**LUCID – BURIED**

 **Outside the Heat Field**

Rii was revelling in the scenery around her and it was all because of her. Nobody could take the credit for this that she could, not even Maro. Soon that fool would be dead and she could take all the glory for this. It was a desolate wasteland, formerly there had been some trees around the entrance of the cave, that was no longer the case. All moisture had left the heat field, the only hint of life the flaming remnants of the fallen trees. Only Naruto could survive inside and that was pushing it.

The rogue shinobi wasn't even considering the possibility of death. Sasuke may kill her and all the others upon Naruto's death but that wouldn't matter. The Leaf Shinobi could lose his temper as much as he liked, her name would forever be etched into history. She was the scientist who did what even the most ruthless shinobi proved incapable of doing. She would be the one to defeat Uzumaki Naruto. She, she and nobody else.

She laughed aloud, cackling like the evil scientist she was. "This is too good, it's too good to be true" she said, ignoring the gazes of others and looking at the entrance to the cave. "Taking down Naruto is one thing but look at who I am outperforming".

The legendary shinobi who the rogues considered their true enemy were all present. It was a group of four who truly saved the world, who brought order to the chaos.

"I'm outperforming the 6th Hokage, the legendary copycat, Hatake Kakashi".  
"I'm outperforming the world's new great healer, the heir to Senju Tsunade, Haruno Sakura herself".  
"And I'm outperforming Uchiha Sasuke, with all his power and ruthlessness, none of you can stop me".  
"Today isn't the day of Hinata's dream, today is the day where my dream becomes reality".

Kakashi felt his chest tighten slightly. He couldn't believe that this was happening. When team 7 defeated Kaguya, it was as if there was nothing they couldn't do. Where Senju Hashirama, Uchiha Madara and so many others had failed, they brought an end to the vicious cycle that consumed their world. Whether it was Sasuke or Naruto, one of them would inevitably determine the world's destiny. After the war nobody could rival their power, for someone to overcome either of them individually was unthinkable. For someone to overcome them both together was unbelievable. Now he, the leader of this crazy but brilliant team was watching them destruct and he couldn't do anything about it.

Kakashi was about to say something, he wasn't sure whether he was going to beg or plead for mercy or whether he would make threats. He was glad he didn't get to say it though as he was cut off by his student.

"Hinata can stop you…" Sakura whispered.

"Huh?" Rii was irritated rather than curious, wondering if Sakura had ignored everything she said.

"You may have outfoxed team 7. You may have beaten Kakashi sensei, me, Sasuke and even Naruto but you haven't beaten her yet" Sakura said, her resolve strong as she clenched her fists. "She can still choose to come back to this world".

The former cloud scientist rolled her eyes, she hated illogical people like Sakura. "Do you know how many shinobi I have killed using this method? Fifty… fifty elite agents of this boring world".

Rii had been using these victims to prepare her technique, to perfect her killing methods before using it against someone important, Hinata.

"When Hyuuga Hanabi stumbled into our grasp, Tetsuya knew that she was too valuable to kill but I never foresaw her being this useful" Rii admitted, "This is the first time I've used a middle-man to cast the jutsu and his been simply glorious".

"Which other shinobi have you killed?" Kakashi asked, his logical mind returning to him.

"Kouta Yaru, Takahashi Shin…" she listed names. Name after name of shinobi from all over the world.

Shikamaru contacted the other Kage with the names the second Rii spoke them. One after another they were confirmed amongst the missing. The shinobi of the five villages soon found out that she wasn't bluffing, she was an experienced shinobi killer.

The group was overcome by silence for a moment, their morale was down. They couldn't see a way out of this. If the technique had overcome fifty others what would make this case so different.

"I may act like this" Sasuke began quietly, "Detached, vacant, empty… but that's not actually the case".

Even the rogue shinobi were looking at Sasuke curiously, for him to speak from the heart like this was very unusual, even Sakura seldom saw it.

"Contrary to appearances, I do believe that one person can pull you back to reality" he said, noting that would be Naruto for Hinata. "No matter how far you have drifted from the right path, there is always someone who wants you to come back, there is always someone who will forgive you".

Sasuke and Sakura shared a smile. Sakura had been a person like that for Sasuke. The last Uchiha had been lucky that not only had Sakura been willing to forgive him but all of team 7. If it had not been for Naruto he may never have understood that.

Rii groaned, illogical people.

"You all seem to have regained your belief. I preferred it when you were on edge" she said, "Let me give you a hint. In a few seconds Hinata will wake up and it will be the last time she ever does so".

Sakura immediately raised her radio and spoke with Naruto. "Listen up Naruto, this will be the last time Hinata wakes unless… well, this is your last chance so please, please, think of something".

 **The Cave**

Naruto took a deep breath, filling his lungs and then exhaling. A week's worth of protecting Hinata and this would be his last chance to get through to her.

"Hinata…" he said to himself.  
"I love Hinata…".  
"Make her understand… one last time…".  
"No… make her understand… for the first time".  
"Then I will spend the rest of eternity… doing the same thing".

Kurama watched silently over Naruto, he refused to break his focus, not even wishing him good luck. The tailed-beast knew that what his host did in the next few minutes would decide if he lived or died. Naruto was the one who united the tailed-beasts, the one foreseen by the sage of the six paths. So Kurama simply held his breath and prayed.

Naruto had only to wait a few minutes before Rii's prophecy came to pass. Hinata gasped and woke up from the dream once more.

Upon waking up Hinata was alerted by how close Naruto was to her, his forehead was pressed against hers and his eyes were closed. She had wondered if he had been asleep himself.

"Naruto…" she whispered, trying to gain his attention.

"Hinata" he responded, pulling his head just an inch back so they could look in one another's eyes.

Hinata felt terrible, there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. If this was the last time she was going to see him she would owe it to him to tell him that. She would have to tell him right to his face.

She shivered slightly, wondering how she could possibly be feeling cold here in this terrible place. It looked like all the water in the world was contained within a few meters of them. She then realised, Naruto had some sort of barrier around them, he must have been maintaining it, looking after her. She decided better of saying she was cold before she felt an undeniable warmness. That warmness was Naruto, his breath running along the goose bumps on her neck and down her back.

Something about Naruto felt different to her. Honestly, he was in a terrible state. He hadn't slept for days, he looked tired, mentally and physically exhausted. His arms and legs could barely prop his body up enough for him to look into Hinata's eyes. He had been staying still for as long as he could but was convinced that he wouldn't be able to do much more before his body gave up.

She didn't notice any of that though, his blue eyes still had the same perfection to them, his cheeks still had the same adorable whisker marks. She couldn't see any of his imperfections, not even with her gifted eyes. The short spikey blonde hair, the ridiculous orange jumpsuit he looked exactly the same as the night he had confessed to her.

"I've been given a big choice to make" she said, reluctantly meeting Naruto's eyes, "I have to choose between the worlds".

He nodded. "I know".

It pushed her to the verge of tears. He was still the same as he always had been, while his body matured those eyes had maintained the innocence they had in their youth. Naruto could maintain that innocence where nobody else could, he was the only one who stayed true to himself in the face of such hardship. Hidden behind those eyes may be the mind of a genius or even the mind of an idiot but it was her idiot.

"I may never see you again after this Naruto" she said, "I'm really sorry. I'm really sorry that I have been so much trouble to you".

Naruto laughed through tears as she said that. He hadn't ever believed that she had been the slightest bit of trouble to him.

"I may be in love with you but I can't… I can't give up what's in the other world" she continued.

The other world was heavenly, she couldn't deny that. There were Neji and Nikko and her son. While it all appeared backwards at first it was designed by her own subconscious. After she had gotten used to it she had found that trait after trait of that place was how she wished it. She had become the confident hard-working shinobi that she strived to be, a shinobi just like Naruto. She had lived the perfect life there with caring subordinates and wonderful friends. Only one thing was absent that she really wanted, Naruto.

"It's not because it's perfect" Hinata explained, "It's because of the family I have there, because of the son that I have there and I… I…".

Hinata was surprised as she felt something warm on her lips. She felt a warmth permeating through her entire body to push the cold away. It was Naruto, he had kissed her. Whether it was his lips gently smothering hers, his abs pressing warmly against her stomach or his hand gently caressing the side of her face, she wished the feeling could last forever, losing herself in it.

As he pulled away she almost started crying again. "Naruto…".

"You've always been easy to catch off-guard" he said with a little laugh to himself.

"Hinata, reality may not be perfect, no, it's far from perfect" he began, "And I can never compare to a dream, I can never be perfect either".

She was keen to disagree with that last statement. "Naruto…".

"No" he pressed a finger to her lips, "If this is the last time, you are going to let me talk".

"I've been thinking about love and still don't know exactly what it is".  
"This decision you've got to make, it is your decision and I'm not going to force you one way or the other".  
"But I understand why you asked now, about love".  
"I don't know what love is really, I don't understand it but I really believe that I love you Hinata".  
"To make a decision you have to work out what love means to you. You have to be the one to do that".

"Naruto…" she hated this. She hated that he was being so kind to her. If there was one time she didn't need that from him it was now. It would make her decision all the more painful.

"I hope that I can see you again, Hinata" he whispered, "I really do".

He kissed her one final time, hoping that if she chose the other world, she would remember that he loved her.

Hinata shed more tears while she kissed Naruto.

' _Am I really never going to feel this again?'_.  
 _'This feeling, this warmth, this sensation…'_.  
 _'Am I never going to see Naruto again?'_.

She knew as they spent this last moment together that he was the one she would always love. Nikko may be a concoction of all her desires and wishes but with Naruto, fate knew something she didn't. Naruto was someone so incredible that she couldn't have even dreamt him up.

With this final realisation, she fainted for the last time.

Naruto knew she was gone, he lifted himself up and kissed her on the forehead.

"I love you Hinata…".  
"I love you…".

 **A White Space**

Hinata was surprised to move between worlds. This time she moved straight from Naruto's embrace to a world she had not been to before. This world was completely featureless, the occupants seemed like they were floating on an invisible white floor. Hinata couldn't see anything other than white walls which appeared to be a million miles away. It was an empty realm, a void.

There were three people other than her present in this realm. Two of them had red-hair to match autumn leaves, Nikko and her son. They didn't seem concerned or surprised to be here, instead they were just happy to see her. The other had the un-matching eyes, the cloak that had been following her around for the last few days, Itoh Rii. Rii wasn't like the other two, she didn't look happy to see Hinata the person, she looked happy to see Hinata the object. She was a hunter who's trap was entering the final stage.

"So, here we are at long last, Hinata" Rii called.

"Hello Hinata" Nikko called.  
"Mommy!" her son echoed.

He had called out but didn't run to her, diligently staying by his father's side, unmoving.

They were both stood on Hinata's left, with Rii stood in front of her. Hinata then looked to her right, there was a blur in the shape of a door. She could just about make out what the blur was, with faint orange and yellow colours, it could only be Naruto. He looked like he was being erased from existence, like he was becoming a forgotten dream.

"Is this what it will be like?" Hinata asked, staring at the increasingly blurry image of the leaf shinobi, "Will I forget the face of the one I don't choose?".

"Yes" Rii said bluntly.

Hinata shook her head. "I can't…". The prospect of forgetting either Naruto or her son horrified her.

"The time has come to decide, Hinata" Rii was getting impatient. She was confident in Hinata's choice but was eager about something else. She didn't care about Hinata, she would die when her decision was made, what she cared about was Naruto. The greatest assassination in history and it would be hers to claim.

' _To never feel that warmth again… or to never see my son again… to disappoint Nikko… to devastate Naruto'_.

In a flash all seven days events flashed through Hinata's mind and she came to a decision.

She walked left, towards her son and Nikko. That was her decision.

She took the first step and felt an agonising pain in her chest, it was like she had been shot. "Ah" she whispered, "I finally understand".

With tears in her eyes she approached her son and kneeled down in front of him. She placed her hand on his cheek and sorted his hair out with her thumb. Placing her forehead on her sons she said her fateful words.

"I'm so sorry".

"Mommy…".

Having said those words, Hinata rose to her feet and turned around, walking towards the blurry image that was Naruto.

She had changed her mind.

"What…" Rii was startled, "That can't be… why… WHY WOULD YOU!".

The scientist had worked everything through logically, she had tested this world on fifty other people. Amongst those fifty other people not one of them had decided the real world over her genjutsu world. Each of those fifty people had been experiments, dealing with weaker versions of the technique than Hinata. It made no sense, there was no logic behind it, how could the Hyuuga have made a decision that none of them had. Why had this all failed at the last moment?

"This is a world designed by your own subconscious. It's what you really want. Why would you abandon it?" Rii was howling, she couldn't accept this. She was being robbed, where all of team 7 couldn't stop her, Hinata had. "Nobody has ever abandoned this world before, what makes you so different?".

"I thought I knew what love was but I never did" Hinata explained, smiling at Rii, "Not until now, not until I took that first step towards paradise".

"What is it? What did you discover?".

"If that world is heaven and Naruto's world is hell then he is trapped" she continued, "He is trapped in that hell".

"That's right, it's hell, why would you go back there?".

Hinata finally answered her own question. "I would rather go to hell to be with the man I love than go to heaven to be without him".

Rii hadn't even considered this possibility. In her mind this couldn't be happening.

"Hinata" a voice called to her.

She turned around to see Nikko, she hated disappointing him but felt she should at least look him in the eye and apologise. However, as she turned around and looked at him, he wasn't disappointed in the least, both Nikko and her son were smiling.

"You made the correct choice" Nikko explained, "Nobody has ever done that before, congratulations".

"Don't forget me mother" her son shouted with a wave.

Hinata smiled, knowing she had made the right choice. "I could never forget you".

As Hinata stepped into the blurry image she disappeared from the world. The entire dimension seemed to be shaking, tearing itself apart. Hinata had decided and she had decided Naruto.

 **The Cave**

Hinata snapped upright and immediately pulled Naruto into a tight embrace. Naruto was completely taken back. Hinata was holding on so tight it felt like she would never let go. A big part of him thought that he had already spoken to Hinata for the last time, that he would never experience her company again. Every point of contact between them felt like it was being electrified, despite his lack of sleep he felt more alive than he had in ages.

As Hinata released Naruto she noticed that he was crying. This wasn't the same as before, these were happy tears for the first time in this cave. He felt like he had fallen in love with Hinata again for the first time and she felt exactly the same way.

"You chose me?" he said in disbelief.

Hinata nodded, pulling Naruto tightly to her once again. She wondered how she could ever have decided anything else. "I love you Naruto, I love you".

Outside the rogue shinobi at the centre of the heat field, Maro was getting hotter and hotter. He began to scream as his very body began to evaporate.

Hidden Leaf shinobi were looking towards Shikamaru in fear. Rogue shinobi were looking towards Shikamaru eagerly. The Hokage's assistant was the one in possession of all the facts, he was monitoring the temperature in the heat field constantly. The readings before him confirmed what he and everyone else had suspected.

"He's gone unstable, he's going to explode at any second" Shikamaru said.

Tetsuya was feeling on top of the world, like he had conquered the unconquerable and his grand victory was assured. He pulled his collar, unable to control his hands with his excitement. That was until he looked at Rii. Rii was the only one amongst the rogues not looking excited, instead she looked petrified. The smile on Tetsuya's face dropped completely as he heard one word roll from Rii's tongue.

"No…".

In the cave, the barrier of chakra was being remoulded into a moveable shape. Naruto's barrier was changing colour to the orange chakra he had become associated with and the shape was changing to mimic the head of the nine-tails contained within him.

With a burst of speed, Naruto ran from the cave, moving to just avoid Maro. He was running as quick as he could, which wasn't very quick given his fatigue. But he was running, something that he hadn't been doing for the past week.

"She's awake" Sakura shouted as she pointed at the orange object moving toward them.

Naruto was smiling as he ran, he was absolutely exhausted but he didn't care. Hinata was with him so he felt like he could do everything.

 **The White Space**

As Rii left the white space with a displeased look on her face, Nikko and his son were left alone to look through the door into the other realm. They had simply been a piece of Hinata's subconscious construction, they had known that they were tricking her but that doesn't mean they didn't want her to see through it.

Nikko looked down to see his son lifting his hand up, he decided to play along, taking the young boys hand.

He looked out into the blurry space and smiled.

"Take her and run, Uzumaki Naruto" he said. "Never stop running".

 **The Heat Field**

Rii shook her head, she looked absolutely devastated. "This can't be happening" she told herself, "This can't be happening".

Tetsuya shared her shock. He had never expected that Hinata would wake from the dream. There was still hope though, they still had to make it out of the heat field before the explosion.

As Maro's body continued to crumble, balls of flame formed around his body and flew in all directions, landing within the heat field. A few of these fireballs flew towards Naruto and he dodged them. However, after he had dodged the first two, he noticed his landing hurt. He had been sapped of energy. He fell to one knee.

"Sakura" Sasuke shouted as he jumped, lifting his feet off the floor.

Sakura knew what he meant, it would hurt but she had no time to hesitate. She raised her leg and kicked Sasuke into the heat field like a football. He was the only other one who would be able to survive within.

The moment Sasuke passed into the heat field he formed a Susano ribcage around him, shielding him from the astonishing temperatures. He had a few cracked ribs from Sakura's hit but he couldn't feel it, adrenaline was flying through his body like water through a river.

Just as Naruto ran out of chakra, his barrier disappeared and Sasuke arrived. The Uchiha created a hand from his ribcage and wrapped it around the couple, as Itachi had done for him long ago. They were shielded, they were together.

Sasuke turned, immediately running for the edge of the heat field. He was running a lot faster than Naruto, that provided some hope for those watching from the outside.

As he skilfully avoided each of the incoming fireballs, Naruto took Hinata's hand.

The blonde shinobi groaned, "He's stealing my spotlight".

Hinata laughed, taking Naruto's hand tightly. Only a fool like Naruto could complain about that at a time like this. That is just what Naruto was though, he was her fool.

As Sasuke approached the edge of the heat field, the last part of Maro, his heart evaporated with the heat. As the last part of the superheated shinobi disappeared, it became the nucleus for a huge explosion and a sea of flames charged after Sasuke and the couple.

Rii and Tetsuya rose to their feet, praying that their plan would succeed. "Yes!".

"They won't make it" Shikamaru shouted.

"Sasuke!".  
"Come on!".

The other members of team 7 couldn't keep calm, they could do nothing. They just clenched their muscles anxiously and prayed that Sasuke would be able to do what nobody else could.

For an instant the rogue shinobi believed they had won. For an instant the leaf shinobi believed they had lost. Sasuke wouldn't be able to endure this explosion. Sasuke wouldn't be able to escape this explosion.

The Uchiha activated his rinnegan and pulled his sword from its sheath. Kakashi and Sakura were familiar with this technique. Sasuke pulled his arm back and through his sword beyond the confines of the heat field.

Just as the flames seemed to engulf him he disappeared, along with Naruto and Hinata. He then appeared, where the sword had been, outside the heat field.

Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata landed uncontrollably as he dissipated the ribcage. The three of them rolled along the ground and landed in a heap. The rogues couldn't believe it but the shinobi of the leaf were jubilant. Sakura cheered as she watched Sasuke bring them back safely. Kakashi held his head and exhaled, having held his breath for the last minute. Not even the calm and analytical Shikamaru could keep calm, punching the air as he watched his friends return to safety.

"It's impossible" Rii said as she fell to the floor.

Shikamaru quickly sent out the message to the other Kage.

"Lord Kage… Lord Kage… They're both out of the heat field safe and sound, everyone has survived".

The news travelled around the world with lightning speed. Those in the know were all delighted, they all understood that Naruto was a hero they owed the world to and he and Hinata were safe.

Kakashi calmed himself, walking over to the rogue shinobi with a smile go great to be intimidating.

"Now then, Itoh Rii, Seta Tetsuya, all of you. You are under arrest for fifty counts of murder" he began, "And one attempted murder".

Naruto and Hinata had survived, together.

 **One Hour Later, A Medical Tent**

"OW" Naruto yelped.

Sakura had just pushed a needle into his arm.

"Quit being such a baby Naruto" she said as she gave him an injection.

Naruto's body had taken a beating. He had been awake for seven days straight and straining himself to the utmost all the while, nobody could perform at full capacity after that.

"Have you even checked on Hinata" Naruto barked as he pointed at the third party in the room.

"She is fine you idiot" Sakura said with a tap on Naruto's head, "She's just had a long nap, you've almost killed yourself trying to keep that barrier up".

Naruto scratched the back of his head awkwardly, it's not like he had another choice after all.

"I know, I know I did but…".

Naruto was interrupted as Sakura pulled both he and Hinata close and hugged them tightly. "I'm really proud of you, both of you" she said.

Sakura gave Naruto a few more checks before leaving the room, giving the couple privacy one more time.

"I'm sorry that you had to leave the dream world behind, Hinata" Naruto said. "I could tell that your son there meant a lot to you".  
"Thanks Naruto, you have been amazing" she responded.  
"This world isn't perfect but I will do everything I can to make it perfect for you".

"No" Hinata said.  
"No?".

Hinata had experienced perfection in depth. She had seen the effects of striving for perfection. She had seen the result and while it may appear sublime on the surface underneath it was cold and empty. She never again wanted to know that world without Naruto.

"Don't do that Naruto, don't change at all. Keep pursuing your dreams and never look back" she urged him, "Because love can't exist when everything's perfect. So, we should never strive for perfection… never…".

Naruto didn't really understand what Hinata meant. He did however, know that she had come to an answer on what love meant to her. He trusted that she had found the right answer, nodding and accepting what she had suggested.

"I want to go dancing again soon" he said, "I miss the days when falling over wasn't so important".

Hinata laughed. He had picked a bad time to run out of chakra. "Me too, trust me, perfect dancing is overrated".

"Will you be able to remember the other world?" Naruto questioned, "I mean, I forget most of my dreams pretty quickly".

"Sakura said that it will be like a vivid dream" Hinata said, "I will remember it for a few days and then forget all about it. At least that's what Sakura said…".

Naruto noticed that Hinata seemed to disagree with the diagnosis, he pressed her, wondering if some part of her was still in denial about what had happened.

"I could never forget my son from that world" she said, smiling to Naruto.

Naruto hugged Hinata tight. To him she was perfect, the way she cared for so many people and never gave up on them, no matter who they were or where they came from. He wanted to experience that forever. He wanted to wake up each day of his life and know that Hinata would always be there and she would always care the way she had done.

Hinata closed her eyes, on the verge of sleep. She knew that she wouldn't see them again in her dreams, that she wouldn't likely see them again. She no longer worried about what her next dream would bring because she knew that when she woke up, Naruto would be there waiting for her.

She pulled back, forcing her eyes open one more time. She noticed for the first time certain similarities between her family in the other world and Naruto. In a certain light they looked very similar. Smiling, she said some final words before heading back to join the others.

"After all, it's such a beautiful name isn't it...".

"… Boruto…".


End file.
